


Homewrecker

by crycastle



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer, Lashton - Fandom
Genre: 5SOS - Freeform, Lashton - Freeform, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 09:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5534162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crycastle/pseuds/crycastle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke Hemmings is happily married to one of the hottest male models out there and has three adopted children. His life is seemingly joyful, but that's just not the case.</p>
<p>Like any other night after dinner, he ends up at a bar for a few drinks and then stumbles home. However, one night he meets college student Ashton and things get heated. </p>
<p>Ashton doesn't expect it and Luke doesn't either, but the small college boy gets pregnant and its Luke's baby. Is Ashton a Homewrecker?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first mpreg so I'm sorry if it's really bad. But I'm super excited for this. :)

Luke Hemmings was married to the most gorgeous man in the world, Preston Lorenzo-Hemmings. They had three adopted kids together, Florence, Lincoln ,and Adira.

They owned a large and beautiful mansion in sunny Los Angeles, despite both coming from Australia. Preston was a model, so he traveled a lot everywhere and anywhere. Luke was a CEO for a major business and although he didn't have the most interesting job he made ways to make it fun.

Lincoln was the oldest and the only boy child Luke and Preston have. He was ten, turning eleven in a few months. Although, he was adopted last, having been adopted only a couple years ago. He was quiet but liked to play basketball when he decided to be social. 

Florence was nine. She had blonde curly hair with big green eyes. She was bubbly and loved to sing Taylor Swift while practicing ballet. Luke knew she was going to become a star one day. 

And Adira was the youngest of the bunch, being only six years old. She was born in the Philippines and adopted at three. Her parents had abandoned her at birth, but she was fighter and managed to stay alive until an orphanage took her in. That's mainly why her name was Adira because that meant strong. 

For the most part, it was a happy family. They joked together and had meals together. There was family game nights and special Christmas mornings. Luke had everything. 

Although, sometimes his fate didn't seem right. 

"It's steak and potato night, kids." Luke announced as his eager and hungry children sat down at the table. Preston walked in, looking tired. He gave Luke a kiss on the cheek as the blonde served the food to everyone. 

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you all day?" Luke asked. 

"I had an early photoshoot and then I went out for lunch with some friends. When I got home all I wanted to do was sleep." Preston smiled and sat down at the head of the table. 

"Okay, Hun. I just get worried sometimes..."

"About what? That I'm going to cheat on you?" 

Luke frowned, "We shouldn't have this discussion in front of the kids." Luke said as he sat down at his seat. 

Preston had cheated before but Luke knew it wouldn't be pretty if he brought it up. They were happily married and had been for the past five years. A few betrayals wouldn't get in the way of such a strong love.

"For class I have to construct an invention." Lincoln brought up and Luke widened his eyes in interest, always being fascinated by science, "An invention? What kind?" 

"Any really. Just one that uses simple machines and stuff like that." 

"I can help you with that, Link." Preston spoke up. 

"I want to help too..." Luke said quietly but Preston just laughed, "You have meals to cook and chores to do, babe! As well as a business to run. You don't have time to help him." 

Preston was right to a certain extent, but Luke found it very annoying how Preston wore the pants in the relationship. Luke was capable of helping build some silly invention for a fifth grade project. Preston would probably just buy something from online and pretend Lincoln made it. 

"I want to see Taylor Swift in concert, daddies." Florence said with a mouthful of potatoes. Luke chuckled, "Maybe for Christmas you can get tickets." 

Preston smirked, "It's your lucky day, little girl! I happened to get you front row tickets today while I was at work." Florence's face seemed to light up as she watched her dad pull out the tickets from his pocket. Luke smiled slightly, of course he loved seeing his daughter so happy but he didn't always like it when Preston spoiled them. 

"You better say thank you to daddy, Flo." And of course the little girl did and also gave him a big hug. Luke smiled at Preston, even though it wasn't because he was happy. He was mainly putting on a scene as he usually did. 

"Adira? What did you do in school today?" Preston asked the girl eating her dinner quietly. She just shrugged and continued to eat. 

Adira probably only said about ten words each day. The doctors say it's because the shock from being in a new family and coming to a different country makes her nervous but it's been three years and it still seems as if she wasn't warmed up to the family. 

Dinner ended soon and Luke was left to do all the dishes as usual. Nobody else ever helped him unless he bribed them with candy or something. Preston sat at the counter and watched Luke scrape away uneaten food and other messes.

"So who's going to the concert with Florence?" Luke asked almost bitterly. Preston rolled his eyes, "I was thinking Michelle could take her." Michelle was the kid's nanny when Preston and Luke weren't around. 

"Don't you think it should be a family event?" 

"Oh please. Do you really want to go to a concert full of screaming girls for two hours in the hot California heat?" 

Luke shrugged, "If it means spending time with my daughter, then of course." 

Preston got up and Luke soon heard a door slam on the other side of the house. He rolled his eyes and continued doing the dishes. 

At 9:00 p.m. all of the kids were finally asleep and that meant Luke could catch a break for once. Preston was ignoring him and for some reason he found that a relief. Preston was always micromanaging him. 

Luke needed to take a load off for once and decided to go to the club, which never happened. Things have just been so rocky lately that the twenty-eight year old needed a break. 

He left a sticky note on the fridge stating that he had gone out for a walk, which he obviously wasn't. However, he didn't need Preston on his ass. 

Luke just needed some fun tonight. 

He entered the club that smelled like whiskey and sex, as well as sweaty bodies. He ordered a shot of tequila for himself at the bar and watched the different people dance across the floor. 

It was interesting to see the different people at the club. You had the recently single mothers, drunk university kids, prostitutes, and teenagers who looked very out of place. 

"What brings you here tonight?" A voice caught his attention and he turned to his left to see a young guy sitting beside him. He had curly hair and was smiling so much. Out of place teenager. 

"Is that really any of your business?" Luke asked as he took a drink of his tequila. 

"No, but I saw you sitting here alone and you're very handsome-"

"How old are you?" Luke cut him off. He could feel his dick starting to twinge inside of his pants at the site of the gorgeous guy beside him. He looked so innocent and Luke hadn't had good sex in so long. 

"I'm twenty-one."

Jesus Christ. 

"Fuck. Uh, I'm sorry but I think I'm too old for you." 

The guy raised an eyebrow, "Well how old are you?" 

"I'm twenty-eight." 

He scoffed, "That is not something to worry about! We're totally legal. But, whatever." The guy started to leave but Luke placed a hand on his arm to stop him, "Wait. What's your name?" 

"Ashton." 

Luke smirked, "I wanna be screaming that name in bed tonight." He got up in Ashton's face, pressing a hot kiss to the younger boy's neck. The boy was quick to moan a little and they quickly went out back to Luke's Range Rover. 

"What's your name?" Ashton quickly asked before they did anything. 

"Luke." The blonde answered and then   
tossed the boy onto the backseat and kicked the door shut. He mounted his behind area and started unbuttoning his shirt. Ashton took off his shirt as well, revealing a toned abdomen. Luke was getting harder by the second. 

Luke slid off Ashton's jeans and Luke unbuttoned his pants. He took out his large member, rubbing it as it stuck in the air. Luke then took off Ashton's boxers, throwing them elsewhere and then began prepping Ashton's hole. 

He didn't have lube on hand, but since this was only going to be a quickie he used saliva as a substitute. He began fingering the hole and Ashton whimpered quietly. 

"You're so hot." Luke moaned, "I'm gonna fuck you so hard." 

Luke took his finger out and lied up his hard on with Ashton's hole, then slowly sliding himself in. Ashton tried holding in his moans, saying "fuck" every two seconds. Luke moaned in pleasure as well and started to thrust roughly back and forth. 

"So hot." He moaned, biting his lip. Ashton tried to fight back an orgasm but it only came out in a loud whine. 

"Fuck, Luke." 

"Keep saying my name." 

"Luke!" Ashton screamed out and Luke smiled in satisfaction. He let out a loud moan as he cümmed inside of Ashton. 

"Luke." Ashton whimpered, seeming like he was going to cry. 

"You're so beautiful, babe." Luke said before sliding out and putting his pants back on. 

"You shouldn't have done that..." Ashton whispered but Luke heard him, "What do you mean?" Ashton sat up and just shook his head, "I gotta go." He said as he put on his pants and shirt. 

"It was nice meeting you." Luke said but Ashton was already gone.

That was some good sex, he thought. 

When he got home Preston was waiting in the living room, obviously not looking happy. 

"Going for a walk?" He asked, sipping a glass of champagne. 

"I did."

Preston chuckled bitterly, "Then why did you take the car?" 

Luke was having an "oh shit" moment. 

"I uh...-"

Preston got up and got nose to nose with Luke, "Where the hell were you?" His breath smelled so strongly of alcohol. 

"I went out." 

"I said where! God damn it." 

Luke stepped back, "Just to get a drink." 

Preston smirked, "But, princess, we have lots of drinks here?"

"I needed a break from you." 

Preston looked a little hurt by that but Luke could care less about hurting his feelings. His husband had turned into a complete monster. 

"Make some blueberry pancakes in the morning." Preston said before leaving the room. Luke sighed and ended up falling asleep on the couch that night. 

His life wasn't that happy after all.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to keep going with this story. stay tuned babes :)

Ashton Irwin was currently in his second year of university, hoping to be an art major. He was twenty-one, soon to be twenty two but that seemed a long ways away. 

Not that he was in a rush to grow up.

He came from a poor family in the ghetto part of Los Angeles. Although they didn't have much, the Irwin family loved each other and always had a good time together. It was a blessing that Ashton had even gotten into the Otis College of Art and Design on a scholarship. Without the scholarship, he wouldn't have been continuing his education. 

For the most part, Ashton was really happy. He had two great friends, Calum and Michael, and a supportive and loving family. Although, as most of the people around him grew up and got in serious relationships...some even married, Ashton found himself missing out on all of that. 

He could never find true love. 

Of course there was one night stands and a little rendez-vous here and there. But nothing ever exceeded that and it frustrated Ashton. 

However, he was at the peak of his college career. He was currently designing a huge mural all by himself to go on the outside of one of the school buildings. He didn't know how the heck he would pull it off but he was confident in his skills and felt honored that somebody would even pick him to do that out of all the artists at the school. 

A relationship wasn't on his mind. 

That's until he met Luke at the club one night. 

Luke was a breathtaking and gorgeous man. He dressed nice and he looked like he kept himself groomed. He seemed like a gentleman but the man also seemed very lonely when Ashton met him. 

He did notice a wedding ring on his finger. 

But at the time, Ashton tried to put that past his mind but Luke also scared him as well. 

Ashton had a disorder that was becoming rapidly common nowadays. For short, he was a carrier...a man who could bear children. However, he rarely ever had sex and it was always protected so the fear of becoming pregnant one day didn't scare him. 

He was planning on going the rest of his life without having a child. 

Luke and him should've had protection when they had that little one night stand, but a condom wasn't in their minds. 

Now Ashton was trying to push the whole thought of being pregnant out of his mind as he sketched out ideas for a mural. None of them were working and he couldn't stop biting his nails.

"Why do you keep dissing all of these ideas, Ash? They are so good." Calum said as he watched Ashton crumple up and throw away yet another sketch. 

"This can't be just any mural. I have to impress so many people and it can't look like shit. This is an art school, so many people will judge it and you know that." 

Calum sighed, "You are like the best artist here. I'm sure anything will do-"

"It's not like that!" Ashton snapped, closing his sketchbook and rubbing at his eyes. He was shocked that he had gotten irritated so quick but maybe it was just because he was so stressed out.

"I'm sorry for yelling." He quickly followed up and Calum shrugged, "You're stressed. I get it." 

Ashton shook his head, "I think I'm pregnant." 

Calum's eyes widened, "What?" 

"I had unprotected sex and I have this feeling that I am. Although, I don't want to be. Oh my god..." Ashton clutched his stomach, feeling vomit itch up his throat. He raced to the bathroom and made it just in time to not puke all over his couch. 

Calum was standing in the doorway with arms folded across his chest, "So...you think you're pregnant?" Calum asked sarcastically.

"Shut up." Ashton replied, flushing the toilet breathlessly. 

After Ashton brushed his teeth to get the awful taste out of his mouth he sat back down in his living room with Calum.

"If you're pregnant then who's the dad?" 

Ashton nearly forgot about Luke. 

"His name is Luke and he's freaking married and probably has kids..."

Calum looked shocked, "What's his last name?" He asked almost immediately. 

"I don't know." 

"What did he look like?" 

Ashton shrugged, "Blonde hair, blue eyes. Why?" 

Calum already had his phone out and was typing in a name. He pulled up a picture and Ashton instantly recognized the man on the screen. However, he was dressed in a nice suit, arms around another man with dark hair and stubble, and then there were three children surrounding them. 

"Was that him?" Calum asked and Ashton slowly nodded, "Dude. You had sex with Luke Lorenzo-Hemmings. He's married to one of the most successful and famous male models ever and they are freaking rich as hell." 

Ashton felt like he was going to be sick again. 

"So, I'm a home wrecker?" Tears brimmed his eyes and he could feel it starting to trail down his cheeks. He was so hormonal. 

"Technically. But, he doesn't have to know."

"Of course he has to know! That son of a bitch made me this way!" Ashton got up, wiping at his eyes, "This baby isn't growing up without another dad, even if it's dad is Luke Lorenzo whatever the fuck his name is." 

"Ash, he has three kids already-"

"So?! He still put his dick up my ass?!" Ashton had a point. Luke didn't have to have sex with him, but he did. This was not just Ashton's problem. 

"He might not want to be the dad." 

"Well he's just going to have to deal with it. It's my problem just as much as its his." 

Ashton didn't know for sure that he was pregnant, but after many online quizzes you concluded a possibility. It had been a month since his one night stand with Luke which gave the baby perfect time to get "settled in there". And Ashton had been having mood swings and morning sickness as well. 

Today, he decided to take an actual test. 

He made Calum buy it since even though males could get pregnant nowadays and it wasn't that uncommon anymore he still didn't want to run the risk of Luke seeing him buying one. However, Luke probably shopped at way higher stores than CVS. 

Ashton held the stick in his hand as he waited for lines to show up. Calum stood in the bathroom doorway and they both shared anticipation and nervousness while they waited.

"This is the longest minute of my life." Ashton nearly complained. 

"It'll be over soon." 

Ashton didn't look at Calum, his eyes too fixed on the white stick in his hand. What was he even going to do if it was positive? How would he tell Luke? 

"Are we going to ever tell Michael?" Calum asked.

"He'd freak. You know how he gets over babies." 

Michael was absolutely obsessed with babies and Ashton and Calum couldn't escape his adoration for them. They both knew that if he found out about Ashton's pregnancy then they wouldn't ever hear the end. 

"He'll eventually find out. Everyone will." 

The timer on Ashton's phone went off and he slowly looked down at the screen where the lines would show up. 

Two faded pink lines. 

"Damn it!" Ashton yelled, shocking Calum. He dropped the test on the ground and walked out of the bathroom, shoving past Calum. Calum stayed there and tried to process what just happened. 

"I can not have a child! I'm an art student; at the peak of my career! A baby is just going to ruin everything. And not to mention, I'm pregnant with Luke's baby!? Luke Lorenzo-Hemmings who's fucking successful as hell and has a hot husband and three beautiful kids. He wouldn't believe me..." 

"Relax, Ash." Calum eased, pulling the small boy into his arms. Ashton was crying now and cursing hormones and Luke.

"I'm gonna help you, I hope you know that. You aren't going to do this alone." Calum consoled and Ashton kept crying on his shoulder.

"You should go get an ultrasound sometime, just to make sure you're absolutely right." 

"I don't want to be absolutely right." 

"I know." Calum laughed.

Almost a week later Ashton made his way into the doctor's office with Calum. They got a lot of stares when walking into the waiting room but Ashton tried not to pay attention. 

"Ashton Irwin?" A doctor called and him and Calum got up and followed her down a long narrow hallway. At the very end they entered a room and Ashton sat down on an elevated reclined chair while Calum sat in a regular chair next to him. 

"Good afternoon. I'm Doctor Bynes and I'll be helping you today." The lady shook Ashton and Calum's hands and then wrote some things down on a clipboard. 

"So, you think you're pregnant?" 

"Y-yeah." Ashton said reluctantly.

"Have you been experiencing morning sickness? Mood swings? Weight gain?" Ashton nodded and Doctor Bynes wrote down even more stuff. 

"Have you taken a pregnancy test?" 

"Mmhm." Ashton tapped on the side of the bed nervously. 

"Was it positive?" 

"Yes." 

Doctor Bynes smiled, "There's a good chance you are pregnant but first I'll have to do an ultrasound to make sure." 

Ashton lifted up half of his shirt, exposing his stomach. He didn't have a bump yet but until now he never noticed the little amount of chub starting to form. 

"This will be cold." The Doctor warned, rubbing the gel on Ashton's abdomen. He winced at the sudden shock but soon eased into it. He put his arms behind his head and took a deep breath as the woman moved a wand around. 

"See that?" Doctor Bynes said, pointing at a tiny blob on the screen. Ashton and Calum both looked shock at the image, "That's your baby." She smiled. 

Calum looked overjoyed but he knew Ashton was probably freaking out inside. 

"Are you the father?" Doctor Bynes asked Calum and he shook his head quickly, "No, I'm just a friend." 

"Are you in any sort of contact with the father?" She asked Ashton and he frowned, shaking his head, "We don't know if he'll be in the picture or not." 

Doctor Bynes looked a little upset for Ashton, "That's too bad." She wiped the gel off of his stomach, "How many pictures would you like?" 

Ashton thought for a second, "Five." He said, remembering he probably had to tell his family at some point, as well as Luke. 

Doctor Bynes printed off the copies and handed them to Ashton. She said that Ashton was about 5 weeks pregnant. Ashton gave a copy of the ultrasound to Calum who looked at it in interest, "I can't believe there's a little human inside of you."

"I can't believe it either." 

After the doctor talked to Ashton about appropriate health care and they scheduled an appointment for next month, Ashton and Calum went out to a diner to eat. 

"When are you planning on telling Luke?" Calum asked as he poured creamer in his coffee. 

"I don't even have his number."

"I'm sure you could find him, his house is the size of Texas." 

Ashton laughed a little, "I'm sure it's not that big." 

"It is. Trust me." Ashton just shook his head, smiling, and took a sip of his coffee.

"Wait! You're not supposed to have caffeine when your pregnant? Right?" Calum frantically asked and Ashton put down the mug, "I guess that's a rule." The curly haired boy said disappointed. He had an unhealthy addiction to coffee and this baby wouldn't make anything easier. 

"Well, you can have decaf if you wanted." 

"But decaf tastes like ass!" Ashton tugged at his hair, tears brimming his eyes. Damn, he was getting emotional. Mood swings. 

"That's why you don't get pregnant." 

Ashton was mad now.

"Do you think I wanted to become this fat crying freak? This is the last thing I've ever wanted to happen to me." Tears were rolling down his cheeks and Calum handed him a napkin. 

"No more coffee isn't the end of the world."

"You don't fucking understand." Ashton sniffled. 

Calum just sighed and sipped his coffee. Ashton glared. 

"I was thinking we could contact Luke today." Calum suggested. 

"Hell no. It's too early." 

"You're right. It's not like he deserves to know-"

"Oh just shut up already." Ashton groaned, rubbing at his barely swollen stomach, "For now, this baby is only known by you and me." 

"And the waitress..." Calum said and they both looked to see their waitress had come back. She awkwardly smiled, "Can I take your orders?" 

"Yes, I'll have a bacon burger with fries on the side." Calum said, smiling timidly and looking at Ashton. 

"I'll have a chicken burger with fries. But maybe, just maybe a little extra salt on the fries? If you could do that." 

"We can do that. Will that be all?" Both boys nodded and the woman walked away. 

"Extra salt?" 

"The baby likes salt." Ashton shrugged. 

After their meal they went to Target because Calum needed to buy shaving cream and a pineapple. Ashton didn't know why he needed a pineapple but Calum was strange like that. He's the type of guy to buy duct tape and sleep meds at the same time. 

As they walked around in the store they stopped at the baby stuff and Ashton started to feel a little weird. 

"Do you want to look?" Calum asked, resting his arm on the shopping cart. 

"K-kind of." Ashton stuttered, looking mesmerized by all the toys and little baby accessories. 

"Take your time. I'll be back." Calum said as he went to look for the stuff he needed. 

There were little teddy bears, pacifiers, blankets, stuffed giraffes and elephants, and even little hair bows and socks. 

Ashton placed a hand on his stomach protectively, as if it was on instinct. Even though he didn't necessarily have a bump yet. 

"Dad! Can I get the iPhone 6s?!" A kid yelled loudly. Ashton laughed a little, he was probably spoiled. He would never spoil his child. 

"No, Lincoln. You're not old enough for a phone." That voice sounded familiar. Ashton slowly turned his head to the voice.

"Honey, I think he's old enough."

"He's not even eleven." 

It was Luke and his husband, as well as three kids surrounding them. Ashton started to feel sick. He quickly took his hand away from his stomach and brought his hand up to cover his mouth. 

Luke and his husband kept arguing and Ashton felt like he was frozen in place. He just stood and kept watching, and watching.

"Ashton?" 

Ashton felt his heart almost leap out of his chest, but it was just Calum holding a bottle of shaving cream and a pineapple. 

"Let's go." The dark haired boy said, pulling on Ashton's arm and guiding him away. Ashton had suddenly turned so pale and Calum was worried. 

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked.

"I-I don't know..."

"Ok. Let's just check out and go home, yeah?" 

Ashton nodded, still shaken up over seeing his baby daddy. 

They entered their apartment and Michael was sitting on the couch. Shit, he couldn't see the medical papers and the ultrasound pictures.

"Where have you guys been?" He said, getting up and walking towards the two. He crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow, almost like he knew something was going on.

"Target." Ashton replied, putting Calum's pineapple in the fridge.

"Okay. By the way, you got a call from the maternity section of the hospital. They wanted to remind you about Ashton's next appointment." 

Michael was pissed off.

"I can explain." Calum said but Michael wasn't having it. "Why didn't you guys tell me? I never knew you guys were together-"

"Calum isn't the dad." Ashton was quick to say. 

"Then who is?" 

Ashton looked at Calum who's lips wet slightly parted. He gave Ashton a gesture to tell Michael and the curly haired boy took a breath.

"Luke Lorenzo-Hemmings-"

"What the fuck?! You got knocked up by one of the richest men in the world? He's super hot too. Oh my god, what are you going to do? You know he's married and has kids already, right?" Michael rambled on and on and Ashton felt sicker with each second.

"I know, I'm disgusting." 

Michael frowned, "You know I didn't mean it like that." He stepped forward towards Ashton but the boy only stepped away, "Of course you meant it like that. I'm aware of what I've done. I'm not stupid."

"It takes two to make a baby, Ash. This isn't all your fault and Luke is going to have to step up. If he doesn't then Calum and I will help and support you all through this journey." 

Ashton smiled lightly, "Thanks Mike." 

"Don't thank me." 

Later that day things seemed nearly normal. Ashton had to write a paper, Calum was cooking something with the pineapple he got, and Michael was playing video games. The baby didn't seem like it was on any of their minds.

But it was.

Ashton kept exiting out of Microsoft word and searching things about babies. He wanted to know what the baby looked like inside of his stomach right now and when morning sickness would stop. He also looked at a long list of baby names, periodically asking Calum if he liked certain names like "Abella" or "Phoenix." Calum would always say "that's cute" and then go back to cooking. 

Then Ashton would go back to writing his paper.

As Calum chopped up pineapple pieces he wondered if in five years he would be cutting up apple slices for a five year old on his or her first day of school. He sure hoped that Luke and Ashton would get it together and work something out. Calum was excited for Ashton but also nervous that'd he'd be filling in the "Dad" role. 

Michael wasn't really thinking about the baby. Sometimes he'd pause his video game and think about how shocking and surreal everything is right now. Ashton had stated many times that he never wanted kids but now he was having one and the thought was so weird to Michael. In roughly 8 or 9 months there was going to be a baby that looked like Ashton and basically was a part of Ashton.

"What do you think about the name Bristol?"

"You don't want to use that name." Calum was quick to say.

"Why not? I think it's beautiful." 

"It's like naming your child "titty"." Ashton let out an "oh" and kept searching. It seemed like every name he liked had a bad meaning.

"What about River?" 

"That's a nice name." Michael replied, taking off his headset.

Calum handed Ashton a cup with a mysterious liquid in it. 

"What is this?" Ashton asked, sniffing the drink.

"It's a pineapple smoothie packed with nutrients for you and the baby."

"Pineapple smoothie?" Ashton raised an eyebrow. 

"Pineapple smoothie." Calum was pretty proud of himself for making a smoothie from scratch. 

"You should drink it." Calum urged, excited to see a reaction from someone. 

"Cal, it's not that I think this looks gross it's just..." 

"It's just what?" 

Before Ashton could answer he was rushing out of the room clutching his stomach and vomiting in the bathroom. 

Calum face palmed, taking the drink and dumping it in the garbage.

"I forgot that pregnant people are sensitive to some smells..." Calum was a little disappointed in himself now but Michael assured him it was fine. When Ashton came back he sat down on the couch and continued writing his paper.

"Is there anything you're really craving right now that I can make you? I feel bad about that smoothie." 

Ashton chuckled, "It's fine. I guess baby irwin doesn't really like pineapples." Ashton looked down at his stomach and rubbed it lightly, "I really want a chocolate milkshake with a side of pickles." 

Calum smiled, "Sure thing, Ash." 

Calum went into the kitchen to start making the milkshake. When he was done he handed it to Ashton who drank it in an instant while dipping a huge pickle in it. Calum didn't ask and started working on his own homework. 

The night was quiet.


	3. 3

"This concludes our staff meeting. I hope you all have a good rest of the day." Luke felt like he was going to pass out as he gripped onto the edge of the conference table. 

"Are you okay, Mr. Hemmings?" 

Luke looked up at Susan who was one of the secretaries of his business. He just smiled lightly with blood shot eyes, "I'll be alright." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Damn it!" He slammed his hand on the table, "I'm fine." He didn't know what had caused him to snap so quick. It could be because he seemed always hungover nowadays. He had a never ending headache and his eyes were always bloodshot. 

"Alright. I'll leave you alone." Susan left and Luke continued gathering his things. He checked his phone quickly, seeing 8 missed calls from Preston.

He nearly cursed at himself from not answering. Preston was going to be so mad, he could almost taste it. 

He called him back, getting an answer within the first ring.

"Where the hell have you been?" Preston angrily answered.

"I was in a meeting, sorry babe." 

"You need to come home now. Lincoln broke his leg." 

"What?" 

"He was riding his bike and a car backed into him. He should be alright but I need you home to take care of him." 

"Why can't you take care of him?" 

"Because I have a photoshoot to get to."

Luke sighed, being too stressed out and hung over for this.

"Then call Michelle." 

"Just come home. Alright?" Preston asked aggressively. Luke figured he probably shouldn't keep up the fight any longer.

"I'm walking out the door right now and heading towards my car. Be there in a few." Luke then hung up, not bothering to hear Preston on the other line any longer. Plus, he was in a hurry. His son was in pain and he was worried as heck. 

When he got home he ran out of his car not bothering to grab his briefcase. He ran through the front door and up to Lincoln's bedroom. But, Lincoln was perfectly fine and playing video games.

"What?" He asked, noticing his dad looked like he just saw someone die. 

"I thought you got hit by a car?" 

Lincoln raised an eyebrow, "No?" Luke was confused, but walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Preston came out of their bedroom wearing a red velvet bathrobe and boxer briefs. 

"Hey sweetie-"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Luke was furious. Who lies about their son getting hit by a car like that? Luke almost had a heart attack over the situation. 

"I just wanted you to get home quicker, my love." Preston placed his hands on Luke's hips but the blonde just shoved his husband away, "Get away from me!" 

"What did you say to me?" 

"I said, get away from me." 

Preston was now about 2 inches away from Luke's face, staring into his eyes.

Then, Luke felt a sharp slap against his cheek, and another, and another. Preston then shoved Luke to the ground and slammed their bedroom door closed. 

Luke lay on the ground wondering what his life was right now. His husband wasn't as awesome as he thought he was. He had three great kids that he loves more than anything. Nothing made sense anymore. 

Preston soon left and Luke decided to order pizza (which never happened because Preston insisted on eating healthy and organic all the time). Luke just didn't feel like cooking tonight.

"Daddy? Why did papa leave?" Asked Florence who had a mouth full of cheese pizza. Luke lightly chuckled as sauce was smeared all over his child's face, but then realized what her question was.

"He just needed to get out of the house for a bit." 

"Are you two fighting again?" Florence frowned. Luke didn't want to lie to her, he wanted to continue this happy scene where there's two happy parents and three happy children and everything was good. 

Yet, that was just not the case. 

"Sometimes, daddies and daddies or mommies and mommies, or mommies and daddies get into fights. It's perfectly normal." 

"Papa hit you." Adira spoke up so quietly. Luke smiled sadly, "I know." He said, looking down at his lap.

"It's not very nice to hit." Adira added on. Luke knew what she was saying was right. 

"I don't like it when you and papa are fighting." Florence said. 

"I don't either." 

Dinner was filled with awkward silence which was unusual. Usually, the family had so much to talk about but today was just silent. Luke could tell his kids were a little upset over him and Preston but it wasn't like they were getting divorced. Although, Luke would kind of like that. However, divorce was so difficult when you had kids with the other person. 

After they ate, the kids went to their rooms. Adira and Florence were probably going to play barbies together and Lincoln was currently obsessed with Call of Duty (so he rarely came out of his room). 

Luke sat on the couch in their sitting room. He poured himself a glass of wine even though he probably shouldn't. He was hung over enough but the taste of alcohol felt so good running down his throat. The burn, the bitter taste. It filled him with energy. 

Then, the doorbell rang which was weird since nobody really rang their doorbell. Unless if it was Preston because he forgot his key. Luke unwillingly got up and checked the peephole seeing that it wasn't Preston. It was two boys who looked like they were in their early 20's. One, looked really familiar. 

He opened the door, "Who are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. There was an Asian looking kid with black hair and a bit of blonde at the tips. The guy standing next to him had curly hair and pale green eyes. He was wearing an oversized sweater and looked insecure. 

"I'm Calum and this is my friend, Ashton."

Ashton. 

Luke knew he had heard that name somewhere but just couldn't put a finger on it. 

"What do you want?" 

"W-we have something important to tell you. Like, really important." Ashton shakily said.

"Alright. Well, you can come inside." 

The two boys made their way in, staring in awe at all the paintings and statues in Luke's mansion. Luke led them into the sitting room,

"Glass of wine?" He offered. Calum took a glass, almost like he'd never been offered a drink in his life. But, Ashton was quick to deny and smiled lightly, sitting down on the edge of the sofa. 

  Calum sat down next to Ashton, rubbing him on the back. Luke figured they must be together or something yet he didn't want to make assumptions. Luke sat down on the sofa across from them, taking a sip of his red wine. 

"I don't know if you remember, but about seven or eight weeks ago we had sex in your car." Ashton looked down at his hands, nearly mumbling the last part of the sentence. Now, Luke remembered who Ashton was. He was that shy out of place teenager from the bar that one night. He wondered why he was here tonight, didn't he ever hear of "no strings attached?" 

"I remember." Luke said, looking concerned and worried for Ashton. The boy looked absolutely terrified like a small child facing a clown. 

Calum still had his hand on Ashton's back and mouthed the words "you got this" to him. Luke wondered what that meant. Did he do something bad to Ashton? He had thought they had good safe sex.

"I-I'm pregnant with your child." 

Luke blinked.

"You're what?" He asked, almost in disbelief. 

Ashton reached into his pocket and pulled out an ultrasound picture. There was a tiny blob and Luke nearly pissed himself. How did he manage to fuck his life up this bad? 

"I'm sorry." Ashton said, placing the picture down on the table.

"No, it's not your fault. I-I just don't know how we're going to do this. You're not aborting it are you?" 

Ashton looked shocked, "I would never."

Luke nodded, a little relieved that the boy wasn't aborting it. No matter how the baby got in there it didn't deserve to die against its own will. 

"My husband is going to be really upset..."  Luke remembered Preston and how much he was mad at him right now. Although, he didn't really care if Preston was going to be mad or not. Their marriage was falling apart and this was the ultimatum. 

"We can work something out. Joint custody?" 

"Yeah, but my husband isn't exactly the most understanding person out there." That was true, Preston never understood any issue unless it came out of his own mouth. He wouldn't want Luke to have anything to do with this baby. 

Ashton nodded. 

"If things don't work out with your husband then I can always step in and take the dad role." Calum reassured but Luke shook his head in disagreement.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened." 

"We have a lot of time to think about this..." Ashton spoke, smiling and placing a protective hand on his tummy.

"Is there anything I can do for you in the mean time? I really feel bad for putting you through this since you're so young..." 

"I'm fine for now. Maybe we should exchange phone numbers to keep in touch?" Luke nodded and put his contact in Ashton's phone as Ashton did the same in Luke's contact list. 

"Who the fuck are these two?!" 

Preston.

"They're just friends." Luke got up off the couch and walked towards his husband who was standing across the room. 

"Honey, I think you're drunk. How about you go upstairs and-"

"Shut the hell up!" Preston roughly shoved past Luke and walked towards the sofa where Calum and Ashton were sitting. Ashton was quick to put the ultrasound picture in his pocket but Preston still noticed that the boy had taken something.

"What'd you just put in your pocket?" He got in Ashton's face and the boy could feel tears welling up in his eyes. Damn emotions.

"My wallet." He said but even drunk Preston could see past that. 

"Then show me it." 

Luke walked over, taking Preston by the hand, "Let's get you to bed." 

"Fuck off you little bitch!" Preston shoved Luke onto the glass coffee table and it shattered immediately. Calum sprung up from the sofa and punched Preston in the jaw, watching him step back in pain.

Preston swung his fist at Calum but the boy was quick to dodge it. Calum then kicked Preston in the knee, causing him to fall on the ground. 

"Ashton! Go to the car!" Calum yelled, pouncing on Preston and slapping him repeatedly across the face. Ashton quickly fled the house. 

"Hey! What are you doing to papa!?" Lincoln yelled from the bottom of the stairs, staring in horror as he saw his dad laying on the shattered coffee table bleeding. His other dad being hit until his face wasn't looking too pretty anymore.

Calum quickly got off Preston and helped Luke up, "Are you okay?" 

"Obviously not. There is shards of glass in my back." Luke looked over at Lincoln who was standing in the doorway, "Go to your room." He said.

"Do you want me to call 911?" 

"Link...please. Just go upstairs and watch your sisters." Luke winced in pain and Calum held him up. The blonde could barely stand. 

Preston was unconscious. Nobody knew what they were going to do with him considering he's the reason this all happened. But, Luke didn't want him to get arrested. Even though he was Preston Lorenzo and would never go to jail even if he killed someone.

Calum ended up calling 911 and they responded almost immediately. Luke was rushed to the hospital and Preston was as well, however, Calum explained the situation and the police took action. 

Calum got back in his car and saw that Ashton was crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned. Ashton sniffled, wiping at his eyes with a tissue, "What if Luke dies?" 

"He isn't going to die." Calum reassured. Ashton just shook his head, "The cops aren't going to press charges on Preston. When Preston gets in sight of Luke again he's going to kill him." 

"Why would he kill him? He doesn't know about the baby." Calum started to drive away from the house.

"He saw him with us. That's probably enough to set him off."

Claim didn't respond. He knew whatever he said would make Ashton burst into tears because of hormones, so he stayed quiet even though Ashton wanted him to say something. 

They got to their apartment and saw Michael sitting on the couch as usual. Michael didn't live with them, yet he spent 99% of his time in their apartment and snuck through the window at random times. 

"How'd it go?" He asked, knowing that they had gone to talk to Luke about the baby. Ashton just shrugged, going into his room and closing the door. Michael looked at Calum, mouthing the words "Is he okay?" 

Calum nodded, "Luke just had to go to the hospital, but other than that he's supportive of the baby and everything." Michael's jaw dropped, "The hospital?"

"Yeah, his psychotic husband threw him into a glass coffee table. Then I beat up the dude and he's in custody of the cops now-"

"Wait, you beat up Preston Lorenzo?" 

Calum nodded, not thinking it was that big of a deal.

"You little shit." Michael chuckled, giving Calum a fist bump.


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello guys! hope you enjoy :) xx.

Luke didn't end up dying. He was rushed to the hospital and they took care of everything in surgery, removing the shards of glass. They were surprised that he had absolutely no spinal or nerve damage from the glass and that was such a blessing. Luke was released a few days later. 

As for Preston, he got released from police custody and he only had bruises from Calum beating him up. He was okay, yet he wasn't happy with Luke and decided to stay with a friend. 

He stayed with his friend for two weeks and when he came back after dinner on a Saturday night, Luke nearly pissed himself (especially since he was staring at an ultrasound picture). He quickly hid the picture in his pocket before Preston could see and put it off of his mind.

"Hey babe." Preston said, walking slowly and seductively towards Luke. The blonde scowled, "Don't come near me."

Preston slapped Luke in the face, "Kiss me, whore." The smell of alcohol emitted from Preston's filthy mouth. Luke felt like he might throw up. Preston forced Luke's lips into his and then crawled on top of the blonde, tearing at his clothes.

"Stop." Luke pushed Preston off of him, "I can't do this."

"Why not?" Preston asked aggressively. 

Luke thought about Ashton and the baby. He couldn't do this to them. He couldn't keep living this lie with Preston who has an abusive ass hole. He had to be there.

"I don't feel anything with you anymore. It's just not fun and I'm not in love. I'm not happy with you." Luke said, knowing he was going to get hell from that. Preston frowned, getting off of Luke and walking away. 

Luke thought maybe everything would be alright until he started to hear glass shatter and yelling from the other room. The kids ran downstairs, asking what was going on. Luke urged them to go back into their rooms and lock the door. They did, and Luke took care of Preston.

"Stop it!" He yelled. Preston shoved him into the wall, causing a family photo to fall and the frame to shatter. 

"You son of a bitch! You're going to love me whether you like it or not." 

"You can't make me love you!" Luke yelled back in between tears.

"If you leave me, I'll kill you!" 

Luke wiped at his eyes, "Think about our kids! They don't want to see us like this. They deserve better. If you would just stop being so selfish and think about someone other than yourself for once, maybe you'd see that this family doesn't deserve this!" 

Preston stepped back. He was silent and stared at Luke for a while. 

"I gave you everything. I gave this family everything." 

Luke sniffled, "And I thank you for all of those memories, but you're not the Preston I fell in love with." 

"Is there someone else?" 

Luke didn't answer. He knew if he mentioned Ashton and the baby then he would be dead within minutes.

"Answer me." 

Luke slowly nodded, feeling his life slip away from him. 

"What's his name?" Preston responded surprisingly calm. 

"Ashton." 

"Do you love him?" 

Lurk shrugged, "I barely know him...it's something else." 

"If you barely know him then why is he 'someone else'?" 

Luke took a deep breath.

"He's having my kid."

Preston nodded, taking a breath, "I think I understand." He said, then he left in an instant even though Luke wanted him to stay so they could work things out. But; he was gone and Luke didn't know if he would even come back.

He got the dust pan from the cleaning closet and cleaned up the broken pieces of glass on the floor. He picked up the photo that had been in the frame and looked at it.

Fake smiles; fake happiness he thought when he looked at him and Preston with their arms around each other. 

As if it was any other night, he tucked the kids in and read Adira and Florence bed time stories. Although, this night he read three instead of two (just because). 

Before he could go into his room for the night he heard Lincoln call to him. He walked into Lincoln's room, seeing him sitting on his bed. It was obvious that he had been crying, but he was trying to hide it.

"Are you gonna leave us too?" He asked and Luke shook his head, shocked that his son would ask that. He sat down next to Lincoln, "Why would you think that?" 

"We heard what you and Papa were talking about. Is it true?" 

"What's true?" 

"That you're with someone else and having a kid with them?" 

Luke slowly nodded and Lincoln looked confused and upset, "So, you're leaving us?" 

"No, Link. We're going to work it out, Papa and I. We're not leaving you or your sisters and I'm also not leaving Ashton's side." 

"That's his name." Lincoln said quietly. 

"You don't have to worry about anything, Link. Me and Papa are going to work something out. Either way, you and your sisters are getting a little brother or sister in about 8 months." Lincoln smiled a little.

"Are you happy?" He asked and Luke's smile faded away.

"Things could be different. But, for the most part...I'm happy." 

And Luke wasn't lying.

•

"I'm fucking fat." Ashton complained, looking in the mirror.  Calum looked up from his phone and at Ashton who looked distressed.

"Well, that's what happens..." 

Ashton pulled down his shirt, looking at Calum, "And it's only going to get worse." The black haired boy said.

"Man, this sucks. My shirts barely fit and I'm always crying. I don't like this at all."

Calum shrugged, "Sorry." 

Ashton was now seven weeks pregnant and starting to show a lot more. Nobody really mentions the baby, yet they all think about it constantly. However, Ashton still had to finish that mural for the college and with all of this baby stuff it's been difficult to concentrate. 

"When are you going to finish the mural sketch?" 

"When I actually can."

Calum nodded, knowing it's been stressful for Ashton lately and the mural was one of those things you know you should finish or work on but you just can't.

"It'll be amazing when you do it. Don't forget that." 

"We'll see." Ashton doubted it would be amazing. He figured it would be rejected and the task of the mural would be handed off to someone else with more talent. 

"I'm thinking about seeing my family today to tell them about the baby." 

"Do you think they'll be supportive?"

Ashton nodded, "My family and I get through everything together, plus, they'll be happy to have a new member of the Irwin family." 

"But, Luke..."

"Yeah, they might not be very happy or supportive with the way this baby got here or who it's father is. But, I know they'll be happy."

Ashton felt a little nervous about going to see his family today. They didn't live in the greatest part of Los Angeles (since they were poor), and the crime rate was unbelievable. Ashton never felt safe when going there but now that he was pregnant he was even more worried. 

"Do you want me to go with you?" Calum offered but Ashton told him he would be fine. After all, he had lived there for nineteen years and he's still alive and their house never got broken into. 

"Alright, Ash. Good luck." 

Ashton walked out of his apartment to his car that was parked on the side of the road. His car wasn't the nicest, but it was affordable and worked fine. His mother used to always say, "It's not about the cost of something if it works well." That was what he was taught all throughout his childhood. 

It would take about 20 minutes to get to Chesterfield Square where his family all shared a home. It was his mom, step-dad, sister, brother, and grandparents who all lived there. It was tight but it's what kept their family bond so strong.

Ashton used to have to share a room with his little brother and sister which was super uncomfortable at times. His sister was younger than him by seven years and his brother was nine years younger than him. It made for awkward moments but he loved his siblings a lot. When he turned sixteen his mom let him have the basement for a room and although it smelled like mold and dust, Ashton was happy to have a room separate from his siblings. 

He arrived in the all too familiar neighborhood. There were still people living there that had been there since before Ashton was born as well as new faces. Not a lot has changed considering there was still trash littered all over the streets and sidewalks and the broken down playground still remained. That playground has so much graffiti on it that you can't see the blue and pink swing sets or slides anymore. It just has penises and boobs drawn and written all over it.

His house was tan with a red trim. It was not pretty at all and looked like it had been made by old western folks and left there. However, his mom and grandma tried making it look a little more pleasing by planting flowers and stuff. 

He walked into his home and his grandma immediately got up from the couch, pulling him into a hug. Everyone in the house eventually got news that he was home and pulled him into a group hug. 

"We've missed you, Ash!" His little brother, Harry, yelled, resting his head up against Ashton's small bump. The boy seemed a little confused as to why his older brother's usually flat stomach was a little more rounder. But, he didn't ask questions.

After a long greeting, Ashton sat down on the couch while his family gathered around as usual. They loved hearing his stories about college and everything in his life. They thought it was amazing that Ashton was getting out there and doing something for himself. He was, after all, the first person in his family to be this successful in college. 

"I've just been asked to paint a mural on the side of one of the school buildings. It's pretty stressful right now though..." Everyone in his family looked so proud of him. They always looked at him like he was some god which tended to make him feel bad. 

"That's great, Ash! I'm so proud of you." His mum said, wrapping an arm around her son. Ashton smiled.

"There is something else exciting that I wanted to tell you guys." 

His family stayed silent, not knowing what to expect from Ashton. Actually, they probably expected him to say he got accepted into yet another art program or one of his paintings got put in a gallery somewhere. But, it was so much different than any of those. 

"I'm pregnant." He blurted out. His family's smiles faded away it seemed like. It's almost as if they didn't know how to respond to something like that. Especially since Ashton had told them he would never have kids or let alone be the one who's pregnant. Of course they knew he was a carrier, but he told them many times he would kill himself if he got pregnant. 

"Well, that's great...Ashton." His mom put on a fake smile. She seemed confused just like everyone else. 

"I know this is pretty shocking for you guys, it was for me. But, I think that life has a lot of unexpected turn outs and this is one of them." 

"I'm happy for you but we don't know how we can support you. We can barely support ourselves." His mom seemed to be the only one talking for everyone. His grandma was crying and his siblings just looked shocked and confused.

"You don't have to worry about supporting me, mom. I have it figured out." 

"How? You're apartment is small enough as it is and your job won't support a baby and yourself. Who's even the father anyways?" 

Ashton sighed, "This is where you'll be disappointed in me." 

"Why would we be disappointed in you?" 

"Because the father is already married and has three kids-"

"Ashton!" His mother seemed very displeased now and his grandparents seemed like it too. His step-dad had already angrily left the room and his siblings probably didn't understand what was going on right now. 

"You know better."

"I know, mom. It was a stupid one night stand and all I knew was his name. I didn't know until Calum told me that he had a family already." 

His mother frowned, "What's his name?" 

"Luke." 

"Have you told him yet?"

"Yeah." Ashton remembered Luke's husband coming in and the chaos that had happened that day. He rather not relive that memory ever again.

"Is he going to be there for you?" 

"He wants to work something out." 

Ashton's mom smiled, "Well then, congrats."


	5. 5

"And that, right there, is your baby." Doctor Bynes pointed towards a small blob on the screen. Ashton smiled as he saw the blob move around a little. Although, he didn't feel anything moving inside of him yet, he felt happy knowing a little life was booming inside of him. 

Luke actually showed up to the doctor's appointment. Ashton assumed he wouldn't be able to go since he had a meeting and it got done right when the appointment started. Miraculously, he showed up just in time and Ashton couldn't be happier. 

"Your baby is about the size of a blueberry right now. His or her toes and fingers are starting to develop as well. You're going to have some light nausea, acne, and you might have a more swollen chest area. But, since you're a male it can't really get that swollen, you'll notice it though." 

"Oh joy." Ashton mumbled. Doctor Bynes chuckled, "Would you like to hear the heartbeat?" 

Ashton and Luke both nodded. The sounds of a heartbeat filled the room and Ashton could feel his eyes starting to prickle with tears. Hearing a baby's heartbeat while they're still in the womb felt so overwhelming and beautiful. Ashton had never heard or experienced anything so amazing. 

Luke was also finding the moment a little surreal too. He had only known about this little baby for a few weeks now but he felt like he belonged here. He felt like this is what he was sent to do and it felt so right. 

Everything felt perfect. 

They walked into the parking lot of the hospital to go to their separate cars. Luke had to get home soon so he could get his kids off the bus but Ashton didn't have to do anything for the time being (since all of his classes were in the morning). 

"When do you want to go over some things about the baby?" Ashton asked. Luke shrugged, his hands in his pockets, "Whenever you have the time I can make the time." 

"Okay." Ashton felt kind of awkward so he opened up his car door to leave but Luke stopped him. 

"Ashton, you don't have to feel so awkward around me. I'm just, Luke, alright? I'm not the guy who got you pregnant and totally ruined your life. I'm not that married rich dude. I'm just Luke." 

"Alright." Ashton nodded.

"Bye." Luke said, getting in his car. Ashton waved to him and then got in his own.

When Luke arrived at his house he found a note on the table that was in Preston's handwriting.

Luke, I took the kids to the zoo for the rest of the day. I wanted to give you time to talk to Ashton about things.  
Love always, Preston.

Luke threw the note in the garbage. He hated it when Preston did things with the kids without mentioning it first. But, he was happy that Preston gave him time to have Ashton over to talk about the baby. 

He called Ashton and the boy was on his way over. Luke quickly cleaned up the house a little (since the kids always left their stuff hanging around.) 

It took a decent amount of time for Ashton to come over since traffic was bad and he lived kind of far away. He had changed his shirt since the appointment, he was now wearing a grey oversized sweater that gave him sweater paws. Luke thought it looked adorable on him. 

"Come on in." Luke greeted and Ashton walked in. They walked over to the sitting room and sat down.

"Do you want water or anything?" Luke asked but Ashton shook his head, saying that he was fine. The blonde sat across from the smaller boy on a similar sofa.

"I've been thinking a lot lately about this baby and stuff. I think I've come up with a plan." Luke started. Ashton nodded along, "My husband and I haven't had the healthiest relationship lately. Our relationship crumbled way before you even told me about the baby so don't think that we made this decision based on the baby. But, we are getting a divorce. I don't know if I want to be with you romantically or not, I'm still figuring that out-"

"So, I'm basically a Homewrecker?" 

Luke sighed, "No, Ashton. Even if you didn't come into my life I still probably would've gotten a divorce anyways." 

Ashton was frowning and Luke knew he probably felt ashamed or embarrassed right now. The whole situation was rocky and since Ashton was so young it was probably confusing and scary, even. 

"We're going to get through this together,I promise. This baby is going to have the two best parents in the world no matter what." 

Ashton lightly smiled, looking down at his lap. He wouldn't look Luke in the eye this whole time which was understandable. 

"When my husband I get divorced I was thinking of moving out and getting my own place. I don't know if you would want to move in with me or not, you know, to make it easier on the baby." 

Ashton shrugged, "I mean, I would hate for it to have to keep bouncing back and forth between homes. Especially since I live nearly half an hour away from you." 

Luke nodded.

"Plus, my apartment is small and can only really fit Calum and I in it."

"Alright. I can start looking for houses."

Ashton felt like Luke was rushing this whole entire process, "Wait," he said, causing Luke to put his laptop back on the coffee table, "Don't you think this is all moving a little too fast? I mean, I've only properly known you for like two weeks." 

"We only have roughly eight months to get all of this situated and it can take a while to buy a house. I want to be prepared." 

Ashton bit at his lip, "Still, this is all happening so fast..."

"I guess that's what happens when you get pregnant. Everything moves too quick. But, you'll be fine...you have me." Luke reassured the younger boy but he still looked like he was about to have a heart attack. 

"Okay, we need a house near my college."

Luke smiled, taking out his laptop once again and searching through houses. Ashton ended up sitting next to Luke as they searched for the perfect home. The town that Ashton's college was in wasn't exactly a super rich area like where Luke lived (which was Beverly Hills), but they found some decent homes that would fit them, the baby, and Luke's kids when they stayed over. 

"How about this one?" Ashton pointed at a picture of a house with a red roof. Luke clicked on it and they started to search through the photos.

It was definitely bigger looking on the inside. It had a modern touch to it but also felt really cozy. There were four bedrooms which was perfect and the master bedroom even had a balcony. In the backyard was a beautiful pool and a deck. They could envision themselves raising their family in that home. 

"I love this house." Ashton said, in complete awe. He didn't realize at this point he was practically cuddled up against Luke but the blonde didn't seem to mind. 

"I'll see what I can do." Luke said, in love with the home as well. Sure it wasn't anything like his huge mansion he was living in now but he never wanted to live in an excessively large home with a tennis court he never even used. 

"I've gotta get going," Ashton said, getting up from the sofa, "I'll call you tomorrow." 

"Okay, bye Ashton." Luke said, walking after the younger boy. Ashton was at the door when Luke caught up with him, "Wait." The blonde said. Ashton turned around to see Luke standing at an arms length distance from him. The older man stepped closer and placed a hand on Ashton's waist pulling him in closer, then caressed his cheek. 

Ashton noticed a scar on Luke's bottom lip and for a short second he wondered how it had gotten there. What had it been from? It certainly didn't look like an accident.

Just as the longing became unbearable, Luke's lips met Ashton's. The warmth of their mouths meeting sent a current running through their bodies. Luke took his hand away from Ashton's cheek as the smaller boy threw his arms around Luke's neck. Ashton slowly lost himself in Luke's alcohol stained breath and rough lips (as if he had been kissed so many times before).

And just like that the kiss was over. Ashton suddenly became more aware of the time and really needed to make it back to his apartment. "Uh...I have to go," He said stepping back to create space between him and Luke, "I need to start my homework, and stuff." 

Luke nodded in understanding, "Okay." He said softly and Ashton smiled lightly, "Bye." They waved to each other as if it was the most awkward situation ever, but also as if it was right and perfect. 

Ashton had left and now Luke was all alone. He wondered if Ashton had felt the same electric energy between them as they kissed, but he most likely didn't. He had a hard time believing that maybe Ashton had feelings for him, but he didn't want to pressure the boy by asking since everything seemed so stressful right now. 

A few hours later Preston had returned with the kids. They came home with balloons and stuffed animals and so much other crap. Usually, Luke would get mad about Preston spoiling the kids but today he felt happy and wouldn't let this ruin it. 

"Hey. How was the zoo?" Luke asked. Preston gave him an evil eye from across the room but Luke didn't pay much mind to it. They were separated for a reason. 

"It was great! Daddy, you should've been there!" Florence was quick to answer, evidently hyper on sugar. 

"I'm sure it was great. What animals did you see?" 

"Zebras, penguins, Lyons, Tigers, monkeys, orangutans, and a panda!" 

Luke smiled, "Wow. That sounds pretty amazing. Did you say thank you to papa?" 

"Thank you." The three kids said in prefect unison. Preston smiled, "No problem." He said, then went into the kitchen giving Luke a cold look. 

"It's pretty late. Why don't you guys get ready for bed and I'll come up and tuck you in?" Lincoln had already went up to his room but the two little girls were still standing by their dad. 

"Ok!" Florence nearly screamed, running up the stairs with Adira. Luke sighed, going into the kitchen to talk to Preston.

"So, what'd you and Ashton talk about?" 

Luke shrugged, "We talked about living together and stuff." 

"Luke, I'm apart of this too. You can't be so vague." 

The blonde nodded, "Alright, well, we decided that we're going to move in together as soon as possible." 

Preston frowned but he seemed to be understanding, "Where are you thinking about moving?" 

"We found a really nice place about twenty minutes from here. I'm going to contact the realtor tomorrow." 

Preston nodded, "Wow." He expressed almost unemotionally, "This is really happening."

"The kids can visit whenever they want and stay for however long they want-"

"But, Luke, this is going to be hard to explain to them. This isn't some easy little decision and you may feel like only you and Ashton and that baby matter, but this also involves the family you're leaving behind." 

"I'm not leaving you guys behind. Do you think I wanted this to happen?" 

"You surely didn't care about us when you decided to have sex with him." 

Luke was getting mad now, "You have cheated on me many times before!" 

"I didn't get anyone pregnant!" 

It was silent now. Luke slowly nodded and mumbled a "Fine", then went upstairs to go tuck Adira and Florence into bed. 

"What were you and daddy yelling about?" Florence asked as Luke pulled her blankets on top of her, "Grown up stuff." 

"What baby was papa talking about?" 

Luke chuckled lightly, with pain hidden behind it, "We'll talk about it tomorrow." He patted Florence's leg and then went across the room to tuck Adira in, who was already fast asleep.

When he got back downstairs Preston was still in the kitchen leaning up against the counter, checking his phone and sipping a glass of wine. He picked his head up when he saw Luke but stayed silent. 

"Thanks for taking the kids to the zoo." Luke said, thinking that was safe to say. Preston went back to looking at his phone, mumbling a "Welcome." 

Luke sighed, pouring himself a small glass of wine, "Can we please start acting like adults about this?" 

"I thought we were?" Preston responded, putting his phone back in his pocket. 

"We fight every time we try to talk about this." 

"We've been married four years, I thought we were going to last forever and now that our relationship is at an end I feel so confused and hurt." 

Luke frowned. He almost felt bad for Preston, but he was abusive and Luke could never forgive that. Preston may be pulling off this victim act yet nothing could replace what had happened in the past. 

"I'm sorry, but I just can't be with you anymore...Preston. I don't like being controlled by you and practically your slave. It's not fun, and it's definitely not love."

Preston raised an eyebrow, "I controlled you?" 

"Yes! You practically made me the house mom here. I hate it!" 

"I didn't know you felt like that...Jesus, Luke. You should've talked to me about this." 

Luke placed his wine glass on the counter, "Cut the bull shit." He sneered. He had a hard time believing Preston right now.

"I'm not bullshitting you," Preston leaned towards Luke, "I have a drinking problem and sometimes when I had too much I would lash out on you. When I wasn't drunk or hung over I loved you, but it never seemed like you loved me back. If any of us fell out of love in this marriage it was you." 

Luke stared down at his feet. It was silent and Luke was thinking, maybe Preston was right? He knows Preston is an alcoholic and isn't exactly the nicest person when intoxicated but he was trying to get better and Luke could see that. Should he give him a second chance? 

Preston was the first love of his life, his first husband, first everything. Ashton was just a guy he met at a bar and got pregnant. Sure, they were having a child together and maybe had a little chemistry, but it would be silly to leave his husband and children for a young college boy. 

What road does Luke take? 

~

"I think I finally got it!" Ashton yelled to Calum who was in the kitchen. Calum rushed into the living room where Ashton was sitting with his sketchbook on his lap. 

"You did?" He asked and Ashton smiled so brightly. Calum walked over excitedly towards Ashton and looked at his sketchbook. 

Calum was in amazement.

There was a tree that looked like it was emerging from ocean waves. The tree had many leaves with images of different arts like painting, graphic design, photography, and so many others. It looked like a huge, colorful, and beautiful explosion. 

"This is...amazing." Calum said, still in shock. He knew his friend was an extraordinary artist but this sketch seemed so beyond anything Ashton had ever done before. 

"Thanks." He smiled, closing his sketchbook. 

"I think that's definitely the one you should go with." Calum said as he went back into the kitchen and continued to cook dinner. 

"I'm so glad that's over." Ashton said as he followed Calum to see what he was cooking. It looked like spaghetti and that made Ashton really happy (spaghetti was his favorite food). 

"So, I have to talk to you about something." Ashton mentioned. Calum looked up from the stove, "Yeah?" 

"I'm moving out." 

Calum felt his heart sink. He had been roommates with Ashton since they were freshmen in college. This was truly heartbreaking but he should've expected that to happen with the baby and all.

"To where?" 

"Only about eight minutes from here. We'll still see each other everyday." 

Calum went back to stirring spaghetti sauce, a little more sadder than usual. He nodded, "With Luke, I assume?" 

"Yeah." Ashton was smiling and Calum figured he should probably be happy for his friend. Plus, Michael would probably be more than happy to move in. But Michael was no Ashton. 

There was a lot of changes happening and Calum didn't know how to respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what a chapter! do you guys feel bad for Preston or do you think he is lying about his true feelings? what road do you think Luke will choose? there's loads to come and we're finally getting to some lashton action!


	6. 6

"Don't you think he's kind of jumping in head first with this?" It was the next day and Michael and Calum were in graphic design class. Calum shrugged, "It's not my job to decide things for him." 

"You've been acting super weird ever since he told you he was going to move out." Michael made a point as he wrote down notes. 

"This whole baby situation has just been hard on me." 

Michael raised an eyebrow, "Why? Do you like Ashton or something?" 

Calum was quick to answer, "No!" He whispered, "I just know that if this Luke guy decides to pull something and leave Ashton then I'm going to have to fill in the dad role and I don't want that, at all." 

Michael nodded, "I could see you as a dad though."

"Shut up." Calum said and him and Michael went back to taking notes. They figured their teacher would get mad at them anyways for not paying attention to the lecture. 

Meanwhile on the other side of the building, Ashton was in paint history class (which was really boring needless to say). He usually didn't pay attention in this class since he could easily learn the material on YouTube fairly quick. 

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and took it out to check it when the teacher wasn't looking (although she didn't really care that nobody payed attention in her class at this point.) It was a new text from Luke and he quickly opened it.

From Luke: Sorry but I think I'm going to stay with my family and husband. This thing between us is never going to work out. At least let me see the baby when he/she is born!

Ashton couldn't believe this. He needed a better answer.

To Luke: can we talk about this in person? 

Within a minute his phone had vibrated in his pocket once more. 

From Luke: I want to keep my life separate from yours. I think it's best if we don't talk in person until the baby is born because I really want to know what it looks like! 

This didn't seem like Luke at all which left Ashton confused and hurt. 

To Luke: Everything seemed fine last night. 

Ashton tried to pay attention to the lecture rather than Luke but it was difficult. If Luke had kissed him just last night then why does he want nothing to do with him today? This wasn't good and they were having a kid together. They had talked about this and planned everything out. Ashton thought they would be okay.

From Luke: It didn't mean anything. Now stop talking to me. I'm a successful married and grown man and you are nothing but a child. 

Ashton could feel his heart literally drop in his chest. He gathered up his things and left the class not caring that his professor was asking why he was leaving. He just needed to go and sit in silence for a while since it felt like everything he had known had been shattered, plus these baby hormones weren't making him feel any better.

"Where are you off to, Ashton?" A staff member asked since Ashton looked very suspicious. 

"I-I need to go back to my apartment. I don't feel good." 

The lady raised an eyebrow but then shrugged, "You're a good kid, I'm sure you're not lying to me. I'll tell Professor Atkins for you." 

"Thank you." Ashton said then left the building. He rushed into his car, not bothering to start it up. He looked over the messages from Luke again and again until he had completely broken down into tears. He didn't understand. Everything was going so well yesterday and they had even picked out a house together. They were going to raise the baby together. 

They even kissed.

Oh god, Ashton couldn't think about that kiss right now. That perfect and meaningful kiss. It was magical and Ashton felt like he could fly after it. Although, Luke obviously didn't feel the same. 

And worst of all, Luke wasn't going to be helping take care of the baby...at all. Ashton couldn't imagine that for his child, only growing up with one dad. He had grown up like that and it was difficult and painful. He didn't want his child to experience the same thing. 

He was hurt. He wished that Luke would've talked to him about this in person and not over text. He honestly thought that was a little weird since Luke never talked about stuff like that on text, he always called Ashton or talked to him in person. 

Ashton's eyes seemed to widen at his realization. What if it was Preston talking to him? It made sense, that man didn't want Ashton in Luke's life and the boy could tell. 

He dialed Luke's number but nobody answered. He called again and again but it seemed as if there was no use after the fifth or sixth call. 

"Damn it, Luke." He sobbed, resting his head on the steering wheel. He was interrupted by a tapping on his window where he saw Calum and Michael. They looked beyond concerned and Calum was yelling for him to open the door. So, Ashton opened the door and Calum immediately wrapped the small and crying boy in his arms. Michael stood near, sipping on a Starbucks frappe. 

"What happened?" Calum asked, slowly pulling away from Ashton. The boy just shook his head as if the answer was completely ridiculous or awful. 

"Was it Luke?" Ashton just sobbed even louder. Calum was taking out his phone now and forcing Ashton to give him Luke's number. Ashton wouldn't, however, telling him that the blonde wasn't even going to answer anyways and he had already tried calling him. 

"Michael! Can you try being a little helpful here?" Calum turned to Michael angrily, seeing that he was just watching what was happening like a scene in a movie. Michael snapped into reality and placed his drink on the ground, walking over to Ashton and letting the boy cry on his shoulder. Calum was looking up numbers, trying to find Luke's. He was hopeless though.

"Fuck this. We're going to his house." Calum declared, taking Ashton out of his car and closing the door behind them. He wrapped a comforting arm around the boy's shoulder, his eyes glazed with tears. He wasn't sobbing now which was good but he was obviously broken and Michael and Calum were both trying to comfort him as much as possible. 

They got in Calum's car, Michael sitting up front and Ashton sitting in the back. Ashton had stopped his crying now but was oddly quiet, almost too quiet. The boy was always talking and giggling, but now he was just like a cloud of sadness. 

About twenty minutes of silence passed, "We're almost there." Calum said as they entered Beverly Hills. Ashton stared out the window at all of the mansions and big buildings. This is where the rich and important people lived, he thought. It didn't seem that special, however. 

It didn't take long after they entered Beverley Hills to arrive at Luke's house. It was just like Ashton had remembered it last night except it didn't give him joy and fill his heart with happiness like it used to. He actually felt more nervous right now than he did when he first came over to tell Luke about the baby. 

"We're all going to go in with you, Ash. If that Preston guy pulls any funny shit I won't hesitate to knock the motherfucker out." Calum said, almost too seriously. Ashton shrugged and they got out of the car, walking to the front door. 

Calum nearly pounded on the door, standing in front of his two friends. Ashton was cowering into Michael's shoulder, not wanting to be seen. However, he knew that Preston or Luke would know he was here as well. 

About a minute later, the door opened slowly. Behind it was a young boy with brunette hair swooped into his eyes, "Hello?" 

Calum's eyes widened, his expression changing from furious to confused. 

"Hi? Is either of your dad's home?" 

The boy shook his head, "They went out. My sisters are in the backyard with our nanny." 

"Do you know where your dad's went?" 

The boy shrugged, "Probably to the bar." 

"Which bar?" Calum knew he was probably coming off as really creepy towards the young boy (who was most likely Luke and Preston's son), but he needed to have a much needed talk with them regarding Ashton. He wouldn't let this slide. 

All of a sudden, the little boy's eyes seemed to widen in realization, "Wait, you're the guy who beat up my papa!" He nearly yelled, not seeming so innocent anymore. Michael looked at Calum who was looking back at him, trying to encourage him to go on. 

"Yes but, this is important and we need to talk to him as soon as possible." 

"Why? Your little pregnant friend over there is sad that my dad doesn't want to deal with that stuff? Too bad. He has a life and loves my papa way more than him." 

Wow, this boy was like a clone of Preston. Ashton had already left and was sitting in the car while Michael was at a loss of words. 

"We know that we came off as a threat to your family but with the given situation we have to-" 

"Lincoln?! Who are you talking to?!" A young woman who was probably in her mid-twenties came down the hallway and stared at the three boys in the doorway. She raised an eyebrow, "Who are you guys?" She asked almost breathlessly as if she had just been doing something super active. 

"We're friends with Luke and Preston. Do you mind telling us where they went to?" Calum spoke up, keeping a close eye on Lincoln to make sure he didn't say anything. 

"I think they said they were going to go to that nightclub called "Factory." 

"Okay. Thanks." Calum smiled and the lady smiled, closing the door. 

"Let's go." Calum then said as they walked away from the mansion as if it was some sort of mission. Ashton was still so quiet and it made the dark haired boy frown a little. He rubbed a comforting hand on the small of the blonde's back as they got back into the car. It would only take about ten minutes to get to Factory so the drive wasn't super exhausting or nerve wracking; if that makes any sense. 

"Are you alright?" Michael asked Ashton as he noticed the boy was turning paler than the second. 

"That nightclub..." Ashton trailed off, feeling as if he couldn't finish his sentence at all. It all felt too sickening...

"Yeah?" 

"It's where Luke and I...erm...yeah." 

Calum slowed his driving, "Are you going to be okay to go in there?" 

Ashton nodded slowly, "I need to be there. I can't look like a coward." 

"You know it's completely fine if you stay in the car-" Michael started but was interrupted, "No, Michael. I'm fine." Ashton made sure to put an emphasis on the "fine". 

A few minutes later Calum had pulled into the parking lot for this nightclub. In an instant, they had spotted Luke's black Lamborghini. 

"Time to give Preston a piece of my fist." Calum said angrily as he slammed his car door shut. 

"Please don't cause a scene." Ashton pleaded. Calum seemed disappointed but he knew that he shouldn't hurt anyone. He was just angry that someone could hurt his best friend that bad. 

They walked into the brightly colored nightclub. It wasn't that busy tonight, only a lesbian couple in the back grinding on each other, a few old perverts, and some wasted college kids. It was hard to tell where Luke and Preston were until they walked in further and saw them sitting at the bar. 

Preston was laughing over something as he downed a glass of tequila. Calum wasn't hesitant when he walked over to the couple while Michael and Ashton stayed back. He tapped on the dark haired man's shoulder with a scowl on his face. 

"What?" Preston responded but his jaw dropped slightly when he saw Calum staring down at him. Then, he scoffed, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because you and your dick of a husband are being immature little piss babies over Ashton's situation."

Luke rolled his eyes, turning away from Calum and taking another sip of the red liquid in his cup. Preston smiled menacingly, "Of course we're still going to see the baby. I mean, it's half of Luke."

Calum wasn't buying that bull shit. 

"Shut your fucking mouth." Michael got in the conversation, surprisingly. 

"Excuse me?" Preston's expression faltered, frustrated wrinkles creasing at his forehead. He must've thought that Calum was going to be the only one doing the talking today. 

"I said to shut your fucking mouth. Luke said to Ashton that he would leave your ass and support someone who actually cares about him. Face it, Preston, you're worse than the devil himself." 

Ashton and Calum both wondered where Michael had mustered up this amount of confidence. Nobody expected him to spit out those words, ever. 

"Why don't you let your little Ashton and my husband discuss this?" For once Preston said something actually reasonable. Calum and Michael thought it would be a good idea, despite the cowering boy hiding away. 

"Good idea. Ashton, why don't we go out for a bit. Just you and I." Luke finally looked over at Ashton who was half hidden behind Michael. 

"You disgust me." He muttered, only loud enough for Michael to hear. 

"Was that a yes?" 

Ashton let a single angry tear run down his cheek and then slowly stuck up his middle finger, "Go out with this." He gritted through his teeth and then left the club abruptly. Calum and Michael were both shocked and left as well. Who knew what Ashton was going to be up to? 

"Your baby momma looks like he'll be gone for a while. Do you still care about him?" 

Luke shook his head, bitterly, "Not one bit." He replied almost as if it's an act. In reality, Luke knew that he was acting. He would give anything to be with Ashton right now and live the life he's always wanted. But that wasn't in the picture...just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was pretty short. I knew I hadn't updated in a while and that some of you were probably waiting for a new chapter. I have been super busy with school and friends to update as frequently! I'm trying however. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter.  
> What do you think about Luke's sudden change of heart?  
> do you think the messages were false?  
> Who in the end do you predict will take care of the baby?  
> Where do you think Ashton went?


	7. 7

It seemed as if a million thoughts were racing through Ashton's mind at one second. It was like a dozen race cars all trying to make it to the finish line first, except this felt more overwhelming and even terrifying. 

Ashton's first thoughts were of murder, but he figured that was too violent for his nature. He found it funny though how his immediate thoughts were of hurting other people; why was that always a common instinct? 

But this wasn't a time for deep thoughts with Ashton Irwin. This was the time to try and calm down and think about what the fuck just happened. Is he done with Luke? Or will they just slowly crawl back to each other like magnets? 

It was silly to think now that they would see each other again. Ashton felt okay with that since he didn't want his child anywhere near those douche bags. That seems a little harsh but if Luke wasn't going to step up and take his responsibly then why should Ashton still be nice to him? 

At this point, if his child has to be raised by only one parent (like his childhood was), he didn't care. Obviously, he cared a little since his childhood was heartbreaking and quite the tragedy. However, the curly haired boy conjured up an idea that he would do everything in his power to take care of his little baby: with or without Luke.

Ashton had ended up sitting on a bench across the street after angrily pacing up and down the sidewalk. He tugged at his hair and let out a soft cry as if he had totally given up on everything at that moment. 

"Ashton?" He picked his head up to see Calum and Michael staring down at him. They didn't say anything else, Calum just took his hand and led him back to the car. 

The car ride back to their apartment was a silent one except for All Time Low playing softly through the stereo. Everyone was just genuinely upset about the Luke situation and didn't know how to handle it. Ashton wanted murder, Calum wanted revenge, and Michael just wanted peace. 

When they got back into their home it seemed as if they just went back about their day like any other. Calum was experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen while Michael watched anime on his laptop. Ashton, on the other hand, decided to take a warm bath because of stress (Calum suggested it so that the stress didn't affect the baby).

He lifted up his shirt as he ran the water in the bath tub. Looking in the mirror, he barely felt like himself with a small bump forming and blood shot eyes from crying so much. 

"Why did this happen to me?" He whispered, placing a hand on his stomach. He looked down and smiled sadly, "I'm sorry you have to go through this, my love." 

The bath was pretty much full now so Ashton stripped of his clothes and got in, feeling suddenly so relaxed at the touch of warmness against his skin. He tilted his head back against the wall behind him and closed his eyes, taking in the serene feeling. 

He let his mind wander off into a multitude of daydreams. He thought of his mural and the outcome that will be of it, even though he didn't know if they were going to choose his or not. He thought of his child and how he/she will be in the future. Will they be an artist like him? Will they be kind, considerate, and loving? Will they be selfish and unkind like their other father? 

He also thought about Michael and Calum. They were his best friends, however, he felt like they might back out on him when the baby comes into the world. He didn't want them to feel obligated to take over that "dad role". He knew that Calum was thinking that, and Michael probably was too. 

Slowly Ashton started to lie deeper in the water until his head was just barely above. He kept his hand on his stomach as he sunk fully in, not allowing himself to breathe even though it hurt so bad. 

The lack of oxygen made him feel woozy underwater. He wouldn't allow himself to come back up; he couldn't do it. His life was a facade of pain and it seemed as if this was the only thing to do. 

To die with pain. 

He soon felt as if the pain of no air was totally gone and it felt relaxing once more. He felt as if he was smiling even though everything was dark. He was going to die and the idea excited him. Surely, nobody was going to enter the bathroom and see this. If so, then it would be a god sent miracle. However, Ashton never believed in miracles and in this attempt at dying it would be silly to believe someone would help him. 

Faintly, he heard Calum yelling about something but he couldn't determine if it was his imagination or reality. At this point, it didn't matter because soon enough:

Everything was black. 

~

"Any sudden changes in emotions? Behavior?" 

Calum rolled his eyes at what seemed like the 50th question about suicide and Ashton's mental issues. Calum didn't want to answer anymore, feeling fed up and just wanting to be with his best friend again. 

"He was upset over his baby's father betraying him...but we didn't think he would think of drowning as a problem solver." Calum answered truthfully. The doctor nodded and wrote some more notes down on his clipboard. 

"You seem tired. How about you go and relax in the waiting room and we'll call you back when we know what's up." Calum didn't hesitate and quickly got up and walked out of the office, heading to the waiting room where Michael and Ashton's family were waiting. 

"Do you know if he's going to be okay?" Ashton's mother asked, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She looked like a mess, but they all looked like a mess. 

"I don't know. They just made me answer a bunch of bull shit questions." Calum sat down next to Michael who was asleep in his chair. 

Ashton's mother sobbed quietly as everyone sat in silence, impatiently awaiting the news on whether or not Ashton would be okay. 

At this point, nobody was sure what to expect. When Calum had found Ashton he was already unconscious and turning blue and when the ambulance arrived the paramedics were unsure if he would survive or not. 

As for the baby, organ damage would've totally destroyed him or her within seconds. But the doctors were confident that the baby was in fact alright and quite a miracle. 

"Have you gotten a hold of Luke yet?" Michael asked groggily, just coming out of an hour long nap. Calum shook his head, "I don't think he wants anything to do with this." 

"That douche bag." Michael yawned, stretching his arms above his head and sitting up straight, "Any more news on Ash?" 

"Not really. Just the same "He should be alright. Give us a few more  hours." Bull shit." 

Michael chuckled sadly, "Can you believe it? Our best friend is dying right now and we're stuck in this waiting room."

"I know." Calum replied, tapping his foot over and over again like a nervous wreck. All he wanted was for Ashton and the baby to be okay, it's all he needed. 

"He's going to be alright, I think at least." Calum said to comfort Michael. He wrapped an arm around the boy as they waited and waited. It was like an endless cycle; they wait, they get brought to an office to be asked questions, and then they wait again. 

A couple hours later a familiar face entered the small waiting room. Calum was shook awake by Michael was staring in disgust at the suited man before them. He looked distressed and exhausted and his hair was everywhere. 

Luke.

"So now you show up? We've been here for nearly ten hours." Calum sprung up and confronted the man. They nearly forgot that Ashton's family hadn't met Luke yet, the blonde nervously waved to them but they didn't seem pleased. 

"I'm sorry. I was stuck in a meeting and the kids-"

"I don't want to hear anything from you. Do you have any idea what you've caused?" 

Luke raised an eyebrow, "I caused this?" 

Calum crossed his arms, "Yes! He felt so betrayed by you that he literally drowned himself in the bathtub." 

Luke sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Jesus. I n-never thought it would be this bad." 

"Yeah, well, you should've thought about that before you texted him all of that horrible shit." 

Luke raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"You know very well what I'm talking about." 

"No, I don't actually." 

Now, Calum was confused but he didn't get any time to ask any further because Doctor Bynes had entered the waiting room, asking for Luke. Calum frowned, hurt that she didn't call for him. He had been there for hours and Luke just got here. But, Luke also was the baby's dad and probably by law was required to go back first. 

Luke followed Doctor Bynes down a long hallway. He fidgeted with his tie, nervously. What if the baby wasn't alright? What if Ashton was dead? What if, what if, what if.

"They're both fine." Doctor Bynes reassured Luke, noticing that he was a wreck over this. 

"Oh good. Thank you." Luke replied beyond happy and relieved. 

"He's currently still asleep but he should wake up soon. I suggest that you try not to stress him out too much when he wakes up." 

"Okay."

She opened the door and Luke followed her in. It was a rather small room and in the bed was Ashton, looking weak and pale. Luke's jaw dropped at the saddening scene, feeling so guilty at the thought that he might've caused this. 

He rushed to Ashton's side and grabbed his hand that felt eerily cold. It seemed as if this was an exact scene from a movie but this was reality and it felt nauseating. 

"I'm sorry." He said, softy as he rubbed his thumb across the back of Ashton's hand. He smiled intently at the sleeping boy who looked like a fallen angel. Luke couldn't help but still feel upset over the fact that he was the reason this was all happening.

That's when he broke into tears at his never ending realizations. What had he turned into? He was supposed to be a friend, possibly a lover to this lost boy. But, he has only been an enemy and he was sure Ashton would never let him near the baby or him, again. 

He tried to be the good guy, he really did. Yet, his husband and family always seemed to try and get in the way of what he really wanted. He was twenty-eight, and for eight years he has never lived his life the way he wanted. Ashton was the key to a life he actually wanted, but how was he going to live this life when everyone and everything got in the way? 

"He's not going to want to see you when he wakes up." Luke turned to see Calum standing in the door way with his arms folded and an angry expression on his face. The blonde frowned, looking down at Ashton's hands that were so lifeless. 

"I'm sure." Luke said in a quiet voice, sniffling. 

"Woah. Are you crying?" Calum walked further into the room, now standing at the foot of Ashton's bed. His angry expression now faltered and looking more confused. He was sure that of all people waiting in this hospital for Ashton that Luke wouldn't be the one crying. 

"I guess." Luke sadly chuckled, looking up at Calum. The dark haired boy raised an eyebrow, "That's surprising." He expressed.

"I don't want to be an enemy." Luke quickly changed the subject. He needed to make a point and now felt like the time. After all, if he couldn't get his point across to Ashton's closest friends there didn't seem like a point in trying to be close with Ashton at all. 

"I got brought into this situation unexpectedly and I tried to be the good guy by helping and coming up with all these plans. However, I forgot all about the family I already had...and they mean everything to me. I get that you guys hate me but I am trying, I just want you guys to give me a chance."

Calum didn't seem amused despite trying to get what Luke was talking about. He just didn't know if he could trust the guy now. Ashton was more than his best friend, he was like his brother. It felt like it was his duty to protect the boy from all evil, like Luke and Preston. If Ashton got hurt badly again and Calum could've protected him from it then he didn't know if he could live with himself. 

"I just don't know if I can trust you. I-I can't let you hurt him...because he means everything to me." Calum said truthfully and looking down at Ashton. Man, he looked terrible and sad.

"I understand. I just need another chance." 

Calum looked at Luke with a bitter expression, his mood changing ever so quickly. 

"I feel like people give you a lot of chances; but guess what? This isn't Hollywood and in this situation, you're not the big shot celebrity everyone makes you out to be. You're just another selfish jerk who I have barely any trust in." Calum kept a tight grip on the railing of Ashton's bed, feeling his veins start to bulge from his arms. 

"I've never seen Ashton so happy in the time we've known each other. When he comes home from seeing you he can't stop smiling and for once he isn't going off about how unsatisfied he is with his art work or the ass hole who took him home at the bar. He is talking about how he thinks he found true love and how much he loves the baby. He's happy, Luke. You give him something that Michael and I have been trying to give him for years." 

Luke took his hand out of Ashton's, stepping closer to Calum. He nodded, "I see." 

"You see what?" 

"Things are going to start changing. For me, for my family, and Ashton. It's going to happen. This isn't the test run anymore." 

Calum loosened his angry grip, "You have approximately nine months to get your shit together. Don't let us down again, Luke." He warned. Luke nodded again, making his way out of the room. He didn't even bother saying goodbye. 

Shortly after Luke left, Ashton's family and Michael crowded in the room, surrounding the ill boy. Nobody really talked except for small talk here and there. It was weird considering everyone was just standing and staring at Ashton, waiting for him to open his eyes. Calum found it somewhat funny that when Ashton wakes up he was going to have eyes all on him. He knew that the boy hated people staring at him. 

Ashton was out of it for most of the day. He did wake up, but only for a short period of time before closing his eyes and drifting off again. It was a blessing though that he did wake up considering doctors were starting to lose hope.

Calum really hoped that Luke was going to change his acts for real this time. He believed that underneath the rich and selfish persona that Luke carried around, there was a kind and considerate man waiting to come out. He hoped that was what Luke was discovering. 

He hoped, because Luke was surprisingly the only thing keeping Ashton happy and sane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowwww what a chapter. I feel like this one wasn't my best writing, but I'm not the best at uber dramatic scenes. trying though! thoughts on this chapter? should calum give luke a chance? if luke didn't send those text messages to ashton then who do you think did (probably not who you think ;)


	8. 8

"You need to tell me exactly what happened."

"I can't do that, Ash. You need to get better first." 

The boy pursed his lips, his eyes scowling at Calum with hurt, "I am better."

"Prove it to the doctor first."

Ashton frowned, "Okay. Maybe I'm not exactly better to Doctor standards. But I feel better!"

Calum felt bad, having to tell Ashton that he wasn't better despite him saying so. The doctor still claimed Ashton was unstable therefore they couldn't leave or even tell Ashton in detail what had happened. 

Ashton only remembered dunking his head under the water; everything else from there was a blur. The doctors said that was normal and maybe eventually he would start to remember in detail, however if he did remember then it could possibly be traumatic to him. 

It had been a few days since Ashton was admitted. His family stayed close by and never really wandered elsewhere. Calum and Michael only left Ashton's side to go to class, but right after classes ended they would return straight to the hospital. 

Luke didn't show up since the first day Ashton was admitted. That was probably a good thing since Luke would only make Ashton more stressed and they needed him in a calm condition. Another freak out could cause strain on his weak body and possibly trigger another suicide attempt. Although, Ashton couldn't possibly try to kill himself again since he was constantly with someone...even when he was sleeping. 

"How's the baby doing?" Ashton's mother asked, smiling across the room at her son. Ashton sighed, "I don't know. She's still a small bean-"

"She? You think it's a girl?" Calum interjected. 

"It's a fatherly sense. You wouldn't understand..."

Calum chuckled, "I think it's a boy." 

"You're only saying that to be contrasting." 

"Maybe so."

Ashton giggled which made Calum smile. He swore Ashton's laugh could cure cancer and stop child abuse. 

"Do you have any names in mind yet?" Lauren, Ashton's little sister asked. He shrugged, "There's a few in mind but I got a while to think about it."

"I think if it's a girl you should name her Darcy." Ms. Irwin chimed in, smiling brightly. She loved children and now that her son was having a baby she wanted to be as involved as possible. 

Ashton tried to hold back his grimace at the name. It was a good name but it sounded so old and he just didn't feel like it fit. 

"I like the name Abella for a girl." Ashton said. It was newer sounding and he felt as if it was unique too. He wanted unique names that sounded cool. 

Doctor Bynes walked into the room with a smile on her face (when did she not). She waved to Ashton's family and Calum then looked down at her clipboard, "Good news is that all of your hospital expenses have been paid for. You don't have to worry about anything."

"Wait, it's all been paid?" Ashton's mother asked, looking confused yet relieved at the same time. 

"Yes, by Luke." 

Ashton rolled his eyes, "Of course." He muttered. He was happy, however, that his family didn't have to pay that expensive fee but he hated that Luke was still trying to be a friend after all that's happened. 

"Well, that's kind of him." Ms. Irwin said with a small smile on her face. 

"Now that I'm still here, let's have a look at the baby!" Doctor Bynes said enthusiastically. She pulled up the ultrasound machine and Ashton unwillingly pulled his shirt up (thankful he wasn't forced to be wearing one of those ugly hospital gowns). He didn't like how everyone was staring at him and his stomach when doing so, it was just awkward. 

Doctor Bynes placed the gel on Ashton's stomach and swirled around the wand until she found the baby. It was still small but everyone still awed at how cute the baby looked. Ashton giggled as the heartbeat echoed throughout the room.

"The baby looks perfectly healthy. We still want to keep a close eye on it, though." 

Ashton nodded as Doctor Bynes wiped the gel off and then pulled down his shirt. His mother seemed to be wiping at her tears with the end of her sleeve and Ashton found it quite alarming. It hit him like a truck; he was having a baby. Of course he knew that part, he had for a while...but to watch his mother cry because of pure happiness made him realize even more. 

"Don't cry, mom." He said and his mother picked up her head and crookedly smiled, "I'm sorry, Ash. I just can't  believe I'm going to be a grandma soon."

Ashton didn't respond, thinking that there really wasn't anything else to say. Instead he thanked Doctor Bynes for stopping by and stared at the copy of his ultrasound in his hands. There, the tiniest dot, was a small human inside of him and the thought was scary yet exciting.

"When do you think I'll be released?" Ashton asked as Doctor Bynes was almost out of the room. She turned around, giving Ashton a sympathetic smile, "Soon." She said, yet she sounded so unsure. 

Meanwhile, Luke was at his office across town, praying that Ashton was okay and going to get the right help he needed. The whole situation was so scary and worrying. Luke didn't even expect Ashton to try and kill himself, nonetheless, put their child in danger. 

"Mr. Hemmings. We have a meeting in ten, here's your coffee you requested." Sandra Williams, a high-strung intern, said as she stepped into Luke's office. The blonde took his coffee from the brunette's hand and placed it on his desk, "Thanks." 

Sandra nodded and walked back out into the hallway, going about her business. Luke figured he should get his proposition ready for the meeting so he could look like a tireless CEO rather than a sleep-deprived and drunk one. Thing is, he just didn't know what his proposition was about anymore. It was supposed to be an action plan on making the business expand but Luke hadn't put any effort into it. 

However, he was the boss. He could easily cancel the meeting and then everyone would be happy and could go home early. But, he knew that this was important so he took a few more big gulps of his black coffee and grabbed his notes. 

In the conference room there weren't that many people yet. Just a few managing directors that took their jobs way too seriously and their interns. Luke waved to them and sat down in his chair at the head of the table. He took out his phone and scrolled through his text messages, seeing that Ashton had read his messages but didn't answer. He didn't blame the boy because the blonde knew he was the wrong one here and he should've been there more. He knew that he was the reason why Ashton was even in the hospital right now. 

"Mr. Hemmings? Is your proposition ready?" Luke looked up to see Sandra staring down at him, as well as the rest of the people sitting at the table. Luke nodded, putting away his phone and standing up. 

"Hello everybody. Today we're going to discuss expanding our business to other offices around the country," Luke rubbed at his tired eyes and held back a yawn, "As we all know our business is rapidly becoming popular. More sales than we've ever gotten are coming in and since this is occurring, we have no choice but to open up new offices." 

Luke all of a sudden froze, not knowing how to continue. He swore to god he had all of this planned out, everything he was going to say. How come he couldn't think? 

"We, um, should start seriously thinking about this. We would like to have staff split up, some to go to the new office and some stay here. Uhh..." 

"Mr. Hemmings? Are you okay?" A staff member asked and Luke squinted, "No, not really. How about we pick up this some other time?" With that, everyone packed up their brief cases and left. Luke was glad because he didn't need his colleagues seeing him like this. 

He gripped onto the edge of the table, trying to keep from passing out. Everything became so blurry in an instant and he was sweating buckets. 

"Do you need water or anything?" Sandra asked and Luke nodded. The woman sat him down in his chair, Luke immediately crashing his head down on the table. 

....

"Is daddy going to be okay?" 

"He should be...he better be." 

Luke's eyes fluttered open and he automatically felt confused by the people standing around him. The room was his own which was comforting, he was relieved that he wasn't in a hospital. But he felt a sudden anger upon seeing Preston staring above at him.

"Get away from me." Luke mumbled, turning onto his side away from his bitch of a husband. 

"Kids, leave." He heard Preston command and the sudden pattering of feet against the hardwood floor. He then felt the bed dip beside him and seethed with anger. 

"You better cut out the attitude with me." 

Luke didn't answer.

"Talk to me."

Luke stayed silent. 

He then felt a strong slap to the side of his face and all of a sudden he was laying on his back with Preston's strong hands on his face, keeping him from moving away. 

"As far as I know, we're still married. You better listen to me and respond, little bitch." 

The blonde breathes heavily, feeling an impulse to beat the shit out of the man hovering above him. But, he also knew he wasn't strong enough to do so and it made him even angrier. 

"You're pathetic." Preston whispered against Luke's lips, then roughly kissing them with a taste of red wine. Luke knew one thing, and that was that he much more enjoyed Ashton's soft lips that tasted like strawberries compared to Preston's rough and chapped ones.

"If you think you're going to leave me anytime soon I'm going to make very well damn sure that you don't. Understand?" 

Luke let out a small "mhm" and Preston smiled in sick satisfaction, "Get some rest, and then at 4:30 get your ass downstairs and make some dinner. It better be good or else it won't be pretty for you in the bed tonight."

Preston left, releasing his grip from Luke's now red stained face. The blonde waited until he heard that Preston was already downstairs and then slowly snuck out of bed. He saw that he was wearing a plain white t-shirt and his boxers, so he slipped on a pair of skinny jeans and his boots. It was simple, Preston was too much of a fool to not realize that Luke could sneak away whenever he wanted, and that was exactly what he was to do.

He took a backpack out of the closet and stuffed as much clothes as he could inside, as well as other necessities. He quickly took a piece of paper and scrawled down a quick apology to his kids and that he would be back soon. He hated that he had to leave his kids behind like this, but he had to fix things with Ashton. He had to.

The last thing he did before he left was take out an old box from the closet. He never thought the day would come where he could retrieve the stuff that had been in this box forever. 

Inside was guitar picks, Good Charlotte, All Time Low, GreenDay, and Blink 182 albums. He found his old black lip ring and without hesitation placed it back in his lip. He changed into one of the old band tees that he had found, in replacement of his boring white one. He smiled like a little kid on Christmas, and this did feel like Christmas. 

The last thing he took was not in the box, instead it was in a case next to the box. It was his guitar and Luke found the feel of it all too unfamiliar. He hadn't played on a guitar in years and the thought made him a little melancholy. 

He took the guitar too. 

The next part of his great escape was to actually escape the mansion. That wouldn't be too tricky considering it was so huge. But, Preston was always on the watch and that would be tough to get around. If he got caught it would not be pretty. 

Miraculously, as he snuck downstairs and out the back door nobody noticed. Mainly because they were all in the den and not in the other main rooms. Luke then got in his car and started to laugh hysterically. He was finally free , for now at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this update took forever. I had loads of tests and exams to study for. I hope you guys didn't give up on this story yet haha. Anyways, this is chapter 8! Yay. I honestly didn't think I'd make it this far. What are your thoughts? Was it right for Luke to pay the hospital expenses? What do you think about Luke running away?


	9. 9

"Ashton? You have a visitor." The honey blonde slowly opened his eyes to see a nurse standing in the doorway. His family was gone, probably done in the gift shop or the cafeteria. Calum and Michael were in classes, therefore who else would show up to visit? 

"O-okay?" He said in a confused manner. The nurse left and in walked Luke, yet not looking as professional as he usually did. He looked, younger? He was wearing a Blink 182 t-shirt and had a lip ring in. Ashton rolled his eyes, thinking that Luke was merely trying to impress him and he wasn't falling for it. 

"What are you doing?" Ashton asked groggily. Luke shrugged, "Just came to see you." 

Ashton took a moment to respond, "Uh..thanks for paying the hospital bills." He said awkwardly. Luke smiled, "Anytime."

Ashton sat up a little in his bed and raised an eyebrow when seeing that Luke was holding a guitar. 

"What's with the guitar?" 

"I came here to play a song." 

Ashton scoffed, "A song? If this is your way of getting me back-"

"Just shut up and listen." Luke interrupted, sitting down on the edge of Ashton's bed and playing a few chords. 

"I will fight my corner, maybe tonight I'll call you, after my blood turns into alcohol," Ashton raised an eyebrow as Luke sang, which was actually like the voice of an angel, "no, I just wanna hold you." 

Luke smiled, "Give a little time to me or burn this out, we can play hide and seek, and turn this around, all I want is the taste that your lips allow..." As Luke finished the short bit of the Ed Sheeran song Ashton found his heart feeling like it was going to pop out of his chest. He never knew that Luke was such a gifted musician, but was the song enough to make him forgive the blonde? 

"Wow, Luke...that was...really good." 

"Thanks." Luke replied, placing his guitar back in its case then staring at Ashton for a little while.

"You know, I'm not expecting you to totally trust me or anything. But, I just want one more chance. I'm trying to be a better man, trying to be myself again after all of these years of not being who I am." 

Ashton nodded, looking down at his hands and then back at Luke, "So what does this mean?" 

"Can I have another chance? I want to show you who the real Luke Hemmings is." 

Ashton shrugged, "We are having a kid together so it'd be nice if we could be civil about it." 

Luke smiled softly, "Yeah." He replied, even though he so wished for something more romantic with Ashton. 

"Is this really the real you?" Ashton asked, eyeing the band tee and the lip ring. Luke chuckled, "Yeah, before I got married and settled down." 

"So, why'd you stop being the real you?" Ashton knew there was a different story to that. Marriage and children shouldn't change who you really are inside. 

"Well, Preston thought my look was childish and he never liked music the way I liked music. He also thought of my lip ring as disgusting and even though he pretended to like it, he demanded that I take it out. I keep the piercing from closing up by pressing a needle through it everyday, because I pray and pray that one day I would escape and be myself again." 

Ashton grimaced, "That's gross. I mean, the lip part?" The boy shuddered  at the thought of needles for he never liked them, "I'm glad though that you're trying to go back to who you were. I really appreciate that." 

The two were silent for a few seconds but of course after a while Ashton just had to ask another question, "If you hadn't met Preston then where do you think you'd be right now?" 

Luke thought for a second before responding, "I would've hoped that I'd be a musician of some sort. That's always been my dream and one of the reasons why I moved to L.A." 

"It's never too late." Ashton said reassuringly. He knew that Luke absolutely hated his job right now, but the blonde just chuckled sadly. 

"I can't just quit my job. It's good money and I've worked so hard to get where I am." 

"But do you enjoy doing it?"

Luke didn't know how to answer that. Some days he enjoyed his job and the people he worked with, but then again, only some days. Other days it felt like he was going to school allover again; being forced to wake up and feeling as if he was being sentenced to a concentration camp. That obviously wasn't a good sign in any job and Luke knew that. But, he couldn't just quit. Not with a baby on the way because even though he was rich he needed the money that was still coming in.

"I guess I don't enjoy it. But we need the money for the baby." 

"I rather you be happy though." 

"I'll be fine, Ash." 

Ashton felt his heart flutter a bit at Luke's nickname for him. It felt like it had been ages since Luke called him something other than "Ashton". 

"Where do we go from here?" 

Luke shrugged, "Well, we can still move into that house if you wanted?" Ashton shifted in the bed, listening more intently to Luke's words.

"Can I trust you?" He questioned, getting the feeling that Luke was just going to leave him again and again. Yet, Luke shook his head and said, "I can't promise that I won't hurt you, but I can promise that I'm always going to be here for you. No matter what. No more immature bullshit because this is about the baby and our life together."

Ashton appreciated Luke's words and smiled brightly, "I think I'm starting to fall for you." Luke beamed with such happiness and enlightenment, and Ashton did too.

Luke started to lean in closer to Ashton, as the smaller boy did as well. The blonde ghosted his hand across the back of Ashton's neck and as their faces got closer, their bodies felt lighter. Their lips locked in perfect synchronization. Noses nuzzled as they both pulled away, and both were smiling with such glee. 

.....

A few weeks later things started to look up for the two. Luke filed for divorce and was still waiting for Preston to sign the forms that he kept getting in the mail. But, with a good lawyer Luke got his kids back and they were currently helping Ashton and him move into their new home.

Calum and Michael were especially happy to be helping the couple unpack and move in together. They were starting to have second thoughts about Luke stepping up and being there for Ashton so it was relieving to know that they didn't have to worry...for now at least. 

"Babe, don't worry about the heavy boxes." Luke said, gesturing for the boy to put down the box. Ashton, now eleven weeks pregnant and sporting a more noticeable bump groaned, feeling frustrated that he couldn't help.

"I just want to help." 

"I know, but I don't want you to hurt yourself." 

"How am I going to get hurt by moving a fucking ten pound box?" The younger boy could feel the hormones starting to kick in and Luke mentally rolled his eyes, having dealt with the hormones all week. 

"You could strain your body and that's not good for the little one." Luke pressed his hand to Ashton's belly and smiled, "I hate being pregnant." Ashton expressed and the blonde chuckled, "It'll be worth it."

Soon, the boxes were all inside and now they just had to unpack and organize things which would prove to be harder than they originally thought. 

"How about the kids go and put their things in their rooms and we can unpack things for the downstairs?" Luke suggested and the kids had already ran upstairs to claim their rooms. Ashton chuckled, "So, this is our life now?" He said as he took out some dishes and placed them in the kitchen cabinets. Luke chuckled along with him, hugging the smaller boy from behind and leaving a light kiss on his shoulder.

"Okay lovebirds. Let's not have sex on the kitchen counter." Calum said as him and Michael walked in with boxes full of kitchen utensils. 

"Sorry." Luke said, pulling away from Ashton and awkwardly scratching the back of his head. They continued putting away the stuff in all of the cabinets, which lasted about an hour. 

After the kitchen was settled they moved bigger furniture into the living room and into the kid's rooms (since they were so eager to have their rooms done). That took a considerable amount of time, yet when it was over they all went out to eat for lunch. 

"Dad, can we please go to the Boiling Crab?" Asked Florence as they all buckled into Luke's car. Calum and Michael were tagging along as well, but they were taking Calum's car since they all couldn't fit in Luke's. 

"Isn't that crazy expensive?" Ashton asked as Luke seemed he was about to say yes to his daughter. The blonde raised an eyebrow, but then relaxed realizing that Ashton had been living off of a ramen noodle budget for all of his life. 

"It's fine. We got there like every week. But, since you're pregnant you shouldn't be eating seafood." Luke said as he thought of other suggestions.

"How about we go to the Urth Caffe?" Luke suggested and the kids seemed to go nuts in the backseat, "Have you ever been there, Ash?" 

"Never heard of it." The boy replied.

"You'll like it." Luke said, then pulled out of the driveway, making sure that Calum and Michael were following as well. 

It was about a twenty minute drive and when they got there the kids automatically knew what they wanted, having been there so many times. Luke rested a hand on the small of Ashton's back as they both looked at the menu.

"What do you think you want?" Luke asked. Ashton shrugged, "The panini's look good. But, this place is expensive. Do you want me to pay for my own?"

"No, Ash. It's on me." 

"Okay.." Ashton never liked it when people paid for things for him, especially when they weren't cheap. But, he should probably get used to it since Luke was just that type of person.

They ordered their food and then when they got their orders they all say down at a booth.

"So, are you guys excited to be living in a new house?" Luke asked, trying to break the ice. Florence and Adira smiled but Lincoln just looked coldly at his father and shrugged.

"Would be nice if you and Papa were still together." The eleven year old muttered under his breath. Luke sighed, "Sometimes marriage doesn't work out-"

"Of course it doesn't when you go off and cheat!" 

Luke slammed a fist on the table angrily, getting stern with his son, "Your papa did the same thing to me, Lincoln."

"Papa would never cheat on you." 

"Well he did!" Luke breathed heavily, and then stopped when he saw everyone in the restaurant was looking at them, "We can talk about this when we get home." Luke said lowly towards his son. Lincoln just scoffed. 

Ashton excused himself from the table all of a sudden, covering his mouth with his hand. Luke was concerned and followed the boy into the restroom, where he found him crouched down near the sinks, in tears.

"Ash, babe, what's wrong?" Luke said as he crouched down in front of the sobbing boy. Ashton couldn't say a word which left Luke to comfort the younger boy as much as he could, without any idea as to what was the matter.

"I just, I-I feel like a nuisance to your family. You don't belong with me, Luke." 

"You know that isn't true, Ash. I like you a lot and I'm more than happy and excited to start a life with you. I may have kids and an ex-husband but you're still mine. You're only mine. Nobody is going to take you away from me."

"I'm sorry, Luke. It's just all these hormones, I can't control it." 

"I know, baby." Luke said, trying to be as comforting as he could. He knew there was more where that came from in store for him during these long months. 

"How about we get you cleaned up and then head back to the table, okay?" Ashton nodded and Luke helped him up, then grabbed some toilet paper and wiped at Ashton's tear stained cheeks. 

"Thanks, Luke. You're the best." Ashton smiled sadly and Luke smiled back. They kissed for a short second, Luke cupping Ashton's cheek in the process. Then, they pulled away awkwardly and walked back to the table where the kids were pretty much done with their food and Calum and Michael looked like they wanted to leave. 

"Are we ready to leave?" Luke asked and the kids seemed overjoyed by that, instantly running outside and to the car. Ashton scowled at Calum and Michael, "What'd you do to them?" 

"Nothing," Calum was obviously lying and instantly spilled the beans, "Well, it was nothing until Michael tried making clown jokes to the kids and it turned rather...erm..."

"Just say it, Cal." 

"Disturbing-"

"Michael!" Ashton yelled at the cowering red head. The boy just frowned, "I was just trying to be friendly."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" 

Michael shrugged, trying to make sense of his actions, "I was just thinking that, 'hey every kid likes a good clown joke!' And I went off with it and I guess I said some things that upset them...I don't know." He stammered with his words and everyone just seemed to frown at the poor boy.

"What was the joke anyways?" Luke chimed in, thinking how the joke couldn't have been that bad. Michael bit his lip awkwardly, "Uh..."

"Just say it." Calum said, crossing his arms. 

"Well, I started off with kid-appropriate jokes but I'm not used to hanging out with kids so I must've had a mindset that I was just with my friends so I said," Michael paused for a second, "Two cannibals walk into a bar and sit beside a clown. The first cannibal wacks the clown on the side of the head and they both start eating the clown. Then, the second clown looks up and says, "Do you taste something funny?" 

Luke shook his head, "Michael..." He groaned and then walked out to his car, probably to make sure his kids weren't that disturbed over the cannibal joke. 

"Jesus Christ." Ashton mumbled, walking out next. Then Calum left and soon Michael did as well.

All was good though. Michael may have scarred the kids for life but he was forgiven. They finished unpacking most of the things, despite a few boxes lying around. They were mainly just focused on getting big pieces of furniture inside and getting the kid's rooms set up. 

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Luke quickly got up from his spot on the couch and answered the door...surprised when he saw Preston standing there. 

"Um, hi?" The blonde said awkwardly. Preston smiled brightly and handed Luke a basket of all sorts of goodies, "This is just a house warming gift." He handed Luke the basket and Luke inspected it slightly, "Thanks." 

The two stood in front of each other in silence for a bit and then Preston spoke up, "You look ridiculous in those teenage band freak clothes." He eyed Luke's Blink 182 t-shirt and lip piercing. 

"Well, it's what I like to wear." 

"Yeah...I'm glad we're separated now so I don't have to be seen with you in those cheap clothes and rotting lip." 

"Rotting lip?" Luke questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

"Whatever. Tell the kids I said hi." And with that Preston left and Luke was beyond confused. Was this going to happen a lot more? He didn't think he could deal with Preston stopping by whenever he wanted and bringing weird assorted baskets. 

"Who was that?" Ashton asked, sitting on the couch. Luke shrugged, "Just a neighbor. He brought us a basket." 

"Oh, how nice!" 

Luke wished he was just a neighbor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm in a rush but I hope you enjoyed that. Thoughts?


	10. Chapter 10

*time skip, two months*

"He still hasn't signed the divorce papers?" Ashton asked, resting a hand on his sore back. Luke shook his head, looking frustrated. He's moved on for sure having already signed his part, but Preston kept holding off and it was starting to get annoying. 

"Why don't you just go over to his house and force him to?" 

"I can't. He's in Spain right now for a fashion shoot." 

Ashton let out a quiet "oh" and then went into the kitchen to get a glass of water, "When is he coming back?" 

"I don't know, a couple of weeks? Maybe a month..."

"Luke, you can't keep letting him hold off. If he's going to be a whiny ass hole about it then let him be. You don't have to baby him." 

Ashton was right. Luke kept letting Preston get away with holding off on the divorce papers and he needed to start being more aggressive with him. He knew that still being married to Preston was hurting Ashton a little and it was starting to hurt him too. 

"Are your parents even aware about what's going on in your life? About us? About the divorce?" 

Luke shrugged, "They haven't talked to me in years. They're homophobic." 

"Oh." 

The house stayed silent until Florence and Lincoln came rushing down the stairs, "Adira said a bad word!" Florence yelled and Lincoln was laughing hysterically behind her. Luke raised an eyebrow, "Adira?" 

"Yes! You won't believe us." Lincoln exclaimed in shock. Luke got up from his seat and went up to Florence and Adira's room, where the little girl was sitting on her bed with shame written on her face. Luke sat down next to her and wrapped a comforting arm around the small girl, "Are Lincoln and Florence telling me the truth?" 

Adira stayed silent. 

"You know that I don't care if you did or didn't, right?" The little girl looked up into her father's eyes. Luke chuckled slightly, "I don't know what we're going to do with your pesky siblings. But if they pull anything on my little Adira, you tell me." 

Adira giggled and gave Luke a hug, then Luke left the room and went back downstairs to the table where he was seated. Ashton was now sitting at the table too, scrolling through his phone. 

"We find out the gender of the little one tomorrow." Ashton mentioned and Luke felt his heart brighten with happiness.

"I bet it's a boy." The blonde guessed and Ashton shook his head, "It's a girl and you'll be proven wrong tomorrow." 

"We'll see." 

Ashton chuckled and got up from his seat, "I've got to head to class now." 

"Want me to drive you?" 

"No, I've got Cal picking me up. But thanks anyways." 

"No problem." 

Ashton leaned down to kiss Luke quickly, yet his lips still ghosted on the blonde's slightly, "Bye, Ash." Luke said and then Ashton waved, grabbing his back pack and walking out the door. 

"Okay kiddos! I'm leaving in two minutes so you better have your butts down here!" Luke called up the stairs. He soon heard the patter of feet come down the steps as he opened up the front door to leave.

The kids all piled into the Range Rover and Luke drove to the school, which seemed so much further away than when they lived in their old house. In actuality, school was further away now, at least half an hour. But, Luke made sure to make the car ride fun by playing GreenDay, which his kids didn't mind. He figured he should play his own music instead of having to listen to the kids argue over which radio station to listen to the entire ride to their destination.

After the kids were dropped off at school, Luke couldn't find himself to go straight home. Although, it's not like he really had any friends in L.A., and things were pretty boring with Ashton at college and his kids at school. 

He decided to go to Target quickly and grab some groceries (since they were almost out of food). Since it was early in the morning the local Target wouldn't be as crowded as it usually is and that meant Luke could get what he needs quickly. 

He walked in and grabbed a shopping cart, then went to the back where the groceries were located. His family didn't eat anything organic or vegan anymore since Preston wasn't around, which made Luke happy that he could fill the cart up with things that he liked and the kids wouldn't grimace at. 

"Hey! Aren't you Luke Lorenzo-Hemmings?" 

Luke turned around from where he staring at the chips and saw someone who looked like a pap, "It's just Luke Hemmings." He said, then instantly regretted it when realizing him and Preston hadn't made a proper announcement to press that they were no longer together. 

The pap's eyes widened, "I knew it!" He yelled and Luke stepped closer to the man, "I'll give you 1,000 dollars if you don't say anything to the press or whoever you work for." He whispered lowly. The pap stepped back, "That's a nice offer, but this is the story that will make or break my career. Preston is wicked famous in the model and fashion community, and you're just his little side toy. Everyone knows that. Everyone also knows that there's someone else involved and possibly a baby. Custody battle? Whatever it is, people want the rumors set straight and if I'm the one who has the answers then I'll get a ton of cash and I won't be fired. So, even if you're offering me money...I'm still putting this out there."

Luke sighed, "Don't put my family in the middle of this. We've been through enough these past couple of months."

"It's just a job, Luke. I need the money, and this job. You wouldn't understand since you're so rich..."

Luke was getting frustrated, but then he had an idea. 

"How much would they pay you if you got this story out there?" 

"About 100,000 maybe." 

Luke couldn't believe what he was about to say.

"How about I give you that amount of money and you keep this story and my family out of the news?"

The man thought for a second.

"I guess you have a deal. But I can't guarantee that there won't be more paps in your hair." 

"I know." Luke said, with a grumble. The man went away after handing Luke his number so he can receive his money and Luke figured it was best if he was done shopping for today (so he still had 100,000 dollars to give).  It's not that Luke didn't have more than that (because he surely did), but he needed to make sure that he definitely had that amount too and excessive shopping wasn't going to help. 

He got home and put away the small amount of groceries he had and then his phone rang. He picked it up then groaned when realizing it was Preston. What did he want now? Couldn't he just leave Luke alone? 

"Yeah?" Luke answered, not bothering to say hello. 

"I have something to ask you." 

Luke didn't say anything. 

"My next modeling shoot is in Greece and I know you've always wanted to go there...so I got tickets for you, the kids, and Ashton." 

"Are you serious?" 

Preston chuckled lightly, "Check your mailbox." 

Luke was hesitant at first but soon went outside and opened up his mailbox where he found a single envelope addressed to him. He opened it up and found that Preston wasn't lying and there were five tickets to Santorini placed inside.

"Preston...thank you." 

"No need to thank me. I can't wait to see you guys there."

Luke hung up, absolutely speechless. He never would've thought that Preston would or could be so kind. However, he knew that he probably only got the tickets for the kid's sakes and to spend time with them, and him and Ashton pretty much had to go as well.

He couldn't wait for Ashton and the kids to get home so he could share the exciting news. 

It was precisely 3:00 in the afternoon when Luke got home with the kids. Florence and Adira were at the table doing homework while Lincoln (the procrastinator), went to his room to play video games. Luke decided not to bother his son, knowing that Lincoln hadn't been too happy lately with the divorce and moving into a different home. 

Luke didn't blame him. He couldn't imagine how confused and hurt Lincoln probably felt with the split and all of a sudden seeing his father with a different man. Plus, Lincoln never had angry outbursts but lately he has and it was totally not normal for the boy. 

Adira and Florence didn't seem very bothered by the divorce. Perhaps it was because they were too young to fully understand or they were just more accepting? Luke knew it was probably because they didn't quite understand yet and he should probably just leave it there. He didn't need to make the situation worse. 

"So, what'd you two girls do in school today?" Luke asked, sitting at the table with his two daughters.

"We learned about the solar system." Florence said as she colored in a picture of Saturn. 

"That's cool!" Luke said with nearly fake enthusiasm. He never really cared much for school when he was younger, but with kids he realized that he needed to act like school was super interesting...mainly so they didn't decide to drop out or something.

"And what about you, Adira?" 

The little girl shrugged as she counted on her fingers (probably for the math homework in front of her). Luke smiled sympathetically and then checked his phone.

"Dad? Can you sign this for me?" Luke turned around to see Lincoln standing near the table with a shameful expression on his face. Luke, concerned, nodded his head and the boy placed a bad test score on the table. 

"Link..." 

"I know, it's not good."

"This is the fifth in a row. What's going on?" 

Lincoln shrugged, "I've just been going through a lot and you know that." 

"I know, but school is important and if you keep failing it's going to impact your average a lot. You don't need to fail sixth grade." 

"Can't you just focus on something other than grades? I said I've been going through a lot...not that you actually cared anyways." 

Luke's eyes widened, "I care about you a lot, Lincoln. I know things haven't been easy these past few months but you have to just move on or at least try. Your dad and I aren't getting back together and Ashton and I are still having a baby. If you're hoping things would go back to normal then I'm sorry." 

The boy left the room without saying a word and Luke felt more and more like a failure as a parent. Nobody ever told him how to deal with divorce when you have kids, mainly because he never would've imagined this to happen. Yet it did and it must be awful for his kids to go through...he understood that. He just couldn't find the right words to make them feel better. 

Soon after Lincoln left and went up to his room, Ashton walked in looking exhausted. Luke got up from his seat and gave the smaller boy a kiss on the temple, "How was school?" He asked. Ashton sighed, "Tiring." 

"I can see that." 

"But I have some exciting news." Ashton said, plopping down on the couch.

"Really?" Luke gleamed, listening intently.

"They want to use my sketch for the mural!" 

Luke smiled brightly, "That's great, babe. I'm so proud of you." 

"They're going to start working on it in a week. It's going to take a while but I'm so relieved that they actually chose mine. I didn't think it was that good." 

Luke chuckled, "Of course they would've chosen yours. You're one of the most amazing artists I know." 

Ashton chose not to truly believe Luke's words, considering he never wanted to believe he was as good as people say. It was a weird mentality he had when it came to what he loved to do, but didn't everyone feel like that? You have a talent that you literally live for but you will never believe people when they say you're good at it. You may say, "thank you" but you know inside somehow that they're wrong. Or at least think.

"I have some really special news too." Luke said and Ashton leaned in closer to listen.

"Preston is having a photo shoot in Greece for a little while and was nice enough to give us tickets!"

Ashton raised an eyebrow, "Really?" He asked, nearly in disbelief.

"Yes! I can't wait to tell the kids this. They haven't gone on a vacation in forever." 

Ashton smiled, but it was very fake. This worried Luke. 

"Uh, are we going to go on an airplane?" Ashton asked, looking a little uneasy. Luke looked at the smaller boy with concern, "Yeah? Why?" He ran his hand up and down Ashton's arm comfortingly. 

"I just- I've never liked airplanes. They scare me."

Luke let out a small "oh" and then ran his hand through Ashton's hair, "You'll be fine, Ash. I know it doesn't seem like that to you but you'll be sitting right next to me and I'll make sure you feel safe and relaxed during the flight."

Ashton seemed to be a bit less tense now and smiled slightly, "Okay, Luke." 

"Did you mention the divorce to Preston?" 

Luke quickly frowned. Ashton was going to be upset that he didn't think to mention it, but so many other things have been on his mind.

"Luke...why didn't you?" Ashton looked very upset now and the expression on his face broke Luke. 

"I'm sorry. I was just so happy about this vacation to Greece that I didn't want to ruin the mood by mentioning the divorce. I'll call him right now and we'll get things straight."

"Don't even bother." Ashton grumbled, getting up from the tan couch. Luke let his head fall into his hands and sighed heavily. He was so bad at this relationship thing. 

"Dad? I think you want to look at this." Luke looked up and saw Lincoln standing in front of him with a paper in his hand. He took it and looked it over, seeing that it was a printed copy of the divorce paper, complete with Preston's signature. 

"Thank you." Luke smiled, giving his son a hug. Surprisingly, Lincoln hugged back and Luke felt for once, in a very long time, that things might turn out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! sorry it takes so long for me to update, things have been absolutely crazy in my life recently. however, the school year is almost over and I promise I'll be able to update more regularly. also I apologize for this chapter being such crap. I've had writers block and I also was rushing to get this done so I could just update something.


	11. Chapter 11

Luke was running late, of course. He had a meeting and right after he was supposed to pick up Ashton from school so they could go to his appointment. However, the meeting went longer than expected since some random finance person wanted to drone on and on about how Luke's company can gain more money. Luke obviously cared about his company and them gaining more prosperity, but Ashton and their baby was more important than that. 

His phone kept going off as Ashton left angry text messages. Luke couldn't answer them during the meeting because he didn't want to be rude, but he felt bad that he was ignoring him. The boy was still upset over yesterday and Luke didn't want to mess things up even more. He really cared about Ashton and wanted them to stay together, he hated hurting him. 

"And that concludes what I have to say about our company. Anymore thoughts?" Luke looked up as the man concluded his boring statement, looking relieved but stressed as well. 

"No more thoughts, we gotta go." Luke said, assembling his documents into his brief case and rushing out, ignoring his clients. 

He decided to call Ashton and hopefully touch base. He didn't answer, unfortunately, but sent a text message soon after. 

To Luke:  
I'll meet you at the doctor's office I got a ride from Calum. 

Luke frowned a bit but was thankful that Calum had decided to do that. He didn't think he could handle a grumpy Ashton on the ride to the doctor's. 

The doctor's office was a short drive from Luke's company headquarters and when he got there he saw that Ashton had just arrived too and was about to walk in. He ran towards the boy and casually wrapped an arm around his waist. 

"Hey, sorry I didn't make it in time to pick you up. Some dude was going off about finances and I couldn't get out of the meeting." 

Ashton frowned, pulling away from Luke, "Whatever. Let's just get this over with." 

"You can't seriously be mad at me." 

Ashton stayed quiet and Luke thought of that as a good thing. It wouldn't exactly look all too great if they walked into the doctor's office arguing. 

They signed in and were soon brought back to the examination room. The nurse took Ashton's weight and then asked a whole bunch of odd questions about his health and stuff. 

Then, the doctor walked in and she smiled at the two boys. Luke tried holding Ashton's hand but he took his hand away, causing Doctor Bynes to give them a weird look. 

"Are you two ready to know the gender?" She asked, turning on the ultrasound machine. Ashton and Luke both nodded, eager to know. It's always the most exciting thing of a pregnancy is finding out the gender in their opinion. 

 

Ashton pulled his shirt up half way, revealing his cute baby bump. Doctor Bynes wiped the gel over his stomach and then started moving around the wand to find the baby. Soon enough, their baby was up on the screen and they both smiled as he or she was wiggling around a lot. 

"So, it looks like you two are having a-"

"Wait," Ashton stopped her and Luke was confused, "I think I want to be surprised." 

"Ashton..." Luke mumbled. 

"Shut up, Luke. Can you just put the gender in like a little envelope and we can open it and find out when we want?" 

"Of course. I can do that right now." Doctor Bynes smiled and exited the room. Luke looked to Ashton,

"What was that all about?"

"I want the rest of the family to know the gender at the same time as us." 

Luke understood a bit more now. 

"Maybe we could invite your family over for dinner tonight? I'd love to meet them." 

Ashton raised an eyebrow and then shook his head, "I think they're busy tonight." Ashton never mentioned to Luke that his family was living off of food stamps and the government, and he had never told his family that him and Luke were a thing now. 

"Well, I mean, they might be busy. I don't know. I'll call them." Ashton continued on. Luke saw past this a little, but didn't ask any questions. He knew Ashton has been under a lot of stress lately and didn't want to make them worse by being nosy. If there's anything he's learned in these past few months, it's that Ashton hates it when people are in his business.

Doctor Bynes came back inside the room and handed Ashton a small envelope, "I'll see you two at your next appointment." She said, acting bubbly as ever. Luke and Ashton walked out of the gyno office and out to Luke's car. 

"What do you think it is?" Ashton asked, referring to the envelope that held their baby's acclaimed gender. 

"A healthy little baby." Luke answered like a smart ass, then started up his car.

"Really? I was thinking more of a parasite." Ashton said and Luke chuckled, "Wow, our child is going to love hearing that when it's older." 

Ashton seemed to have lightened up a little more since before the appointment. Luke was grateful that he was perking up because he hates it when Ashton is grumpy, which happens a lot now. 

"No, seriously, do you think it's a boy or girl?" 

"Honestly?" Luke turned and looked at Ashton quickly as he kept driving. Ashton nodded and Luke thought for a second.

"A boy." 

"Really? I think it's a girl." 

Luke shrugged, "I'm happy with whatever." 

After a short drive filled with Good Charlotte blasting through the speakers of the car, they got home. Ashton quickly stated he was exhausted beyond belief and went to his room to take a nap (him and Luke didn't share a room yet, they tried to but it didn't work out). The kids were with Michelle, their nanny, at the park so Luke and Ashton could have a few hours to themselves. 

Luke took the time to have a glass of wine and watch some How I Met Your Mother while Ashton slept. When Ashton finally got up they cuddled on the couch for a couple minutes, but then Ashton had to work on homework. 

"Are you going to invite your parents over tonight?" Luke asked before Ashton had left the room. The boy turned around, "I told you, they're busy." 

"Something tells me they're not busy. You can be honest with me, Ash." 

The boy slowly walked back to the couch and sat down next to Luke, "Promise me you won't judge me." He stated and Luke nodded, "I would never judge you." 

Ashton took a deep breath and explained his family's situation, from the crappy neighborhood, their falling apart house, how they had to sell their car to pay the bills. Luke listened intently and understood how Ashton might have been hesitant to tell him about this before, but he didn't judge him. 

"I'm not going to judge you or look at you any differently," Luke started off saying, "My family never really had a lot of money either. My dad worked two jobs and my mom was in an accident so she couldn't work. My brothers and I individually only got one present on Christmas, and on our birthdays. We had a nice house, I guess, it was simple. But, we were short on money and I can totally relate to that with you."

"Wow," Ashton said, "I would expect your family to be wealthy based off of how you are." 

Luke shook his head, smiling a bit, "No, all my money is from me working my ass off trying to make something out of my life here in the states."

"I wish I could make something out of my life here." Ashton said. He had always hoped his art would go somewhere but it never really has. 

"Hey, you're an amazing artist," Luke reassured Ashton, "I would prefer being a musician, touring the world. But, I'm glad I became a CEO, because if I hadn't I would've never met Preston, adopted my three amazing kids, then met you and gotten you pregnant with our beautiful baby." 

"Something tells me that's not really how you wished your life was right now." Ashton suspected that wasn't what Luke wanted. But Luke quickly said no.

"Of course I never imagined this would be the turnout when I moved out here, but I'm glad it was in the end. I love you and our little family." 

"You love me?" Ashton asked, feeling his heart do funny things inside of his chest. Luke realized what he said and wanted to take the words back, not wanting to scare off Ashton. However, Ashton blushed and smiled brightly. 

"Yeah, I love you." 

"Well, I love you too." 

The two boys bursted into a fit of laughter and sloppily kissed in the process. 

"Get a room." Lincoln said as he walked into the living room, Adira and Florence following closely behind.

Luke and Ashton just laughed even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really short and rushed, I'm so sorry. I know people have stopped reading this story, and I know I keep saying I'll update regularly but it's been too hard to keep up with that. However, expect a double update today because I want to give you guys all I can. I can't say sorry enough.


	12. Chapter 12

"Ash, I have no idea how to make lasagna. Can't we just buy the boxed kind and heat it up?" Luke was getting annoyed by the pasta in front of him. Ashton made his way over and started giggling, "Maybe it would help if you turned the oven on?" 

"Oh my god." Luke face palmed and turned the stove on, in disbelief that after years of cooking for Preston and the kids that he didn't even turn the oven on. 

"My family will be here any minute, maybe we should've gotten the pre made kind." 

"Or ordered pizza?" 

Ashton rolled his eyes,"This is my family. I'm not going to torture them with crappy pizza." 

"I know some pretty good pizza places here." Luke testified and Ashton shook his head, "No. Make the damn lasagna." 

Soon enough the doorbell rang and Ashton raced to the door to answer it. He saw through the peep hole that it was his family and instantly felt his nerves kicking into action. 

"Kids! Luke! They're here!" He shouted and the kids came walking in like they wished they were doing anything else right now. Luke came in shortly after and Ashton smiled, opening the door.

"Ashton!" His mother shouted, pulling her son into a big hug. 

"Hey mom." 

"Oh my god, you're really starting to show now!" She exclaimed, immediately pressing her hands to Ashton's stomach.

"Yeah, nearly six months." Ashton smiled fondly as his family came towards him to give hugs. 

"So this is Adira, Florence, and Lincoln." Ashton introduced Luke's kids to his family and then turned his attention to Luke. 

"And this is Luke, my boyfriend." Luke looked confused for a second at Ashton calling him his boyfriend, since they really hadn't put labels on what they were yet. However, he went with it and held his hand for Ashton's family to shake. Instead, they pulled him into a huge hug by surprise. The Irwin family was definitely big on hugs. 

"Is something burning?" Ashton's mother asked and Luke's eyes widened. He rushed into the kitchen and saw smoke rising from the stove. 

"Oh shit." He mumbled, not really knowing what he was supposed to do. Everyone came rushing into the kitchen and Luke turned around, shooing them out. 

"What happened?!" Ashton yelled, trying to calm down Luke who was trying to find the fire extinguisher. 

"Get out! You're pregnant! This can be harmful to the baby!" Luke yelled back as he got out the fire extinguisher.

"Should I call the fire department?"

"No! I got it!" Luke yelled over the smoke alarm. He pressed the trigger to spray the fire extinguisher, but instead it sprayed in his face and he stood there coughing.

"Give me that." Ashton yanked the fire extinguisher from Luke as the blonde walked away from the scene, having a hard time seeing from the white stuff in his face. Ashton quickly put the fire out, grabbing an oven mitt and taking the lasagna out of the stove.

"I guess we're ordering pizza tonight." He said as he grimaced at the burnt pasta. He turned to Luke and saw that the boy's face was starting to turn red.

"Oh my god, babe." 

"It burns." Luke said as he splashed water from the sink faucet on his face.

"You probably got a slight burn from the chemicals. It's not that big of a deal." Ms. Irwin said as she guided Luke to a chair so he could sit. 

"Ash? You got any ice packs?" She asked and Ashton nodded, fishing through the freezer. He eventually found one past all the ice cream containers and microwave meals, and handed it to his mother. She placed it on Luke's face and had him hold it, the boy giving out a sigh of relief, "Thank you." Anne Marie nodded and took a few steps back, going to stand close to Ashton.

They ended up ordering a pizza that evening, and when it arrived they all sat down at the table, ignoring the fancy dishes and layout Ashton had set up prior and used paper plates. 

"So, as most of you know Luke and I were supposed to find out the gender of the baby today at my appointment," Ashton started, placing a hand on Luke's thigh underneath the table, "we decided to have the doctor put the gender in an envelope for us so we could find out at the same time as all of you." Excitement boomed from Ashton's family and Luke's kids with squeals. Lincoln didn't seem all that interested, however. 

Ashton took the envelope out of his pocket and held it for a second, "Are you guys ready?" 

"Shut up and open it already!" Ashton's little sister, Lauren, yelled. The family laughed and Ashton did so, smiling proudly as he saw the gender on the little slip of paper.

"It's a boy!" He exclaimed and the house seemed to shake with excitement. Luke instantly gave Ashton a kiss in this moment. Ashton pulled away smiling so brightly, "We're having a little boy." He said and then was pulled into Luke's arms.

"Our little boy." Luke said, feeling bright and happy...a feeling he had been missing for a while. 

A couple hours had passed. Ashton's family had gone home, not wanting to miss their bus back to their neighborhood. Luke had finally gotten the kids to sleep and now they were trying to pick up the house as best as they could. 

"We need a maid or something." Ashton suggested as he threw some more greasy paper plates into the trash.

"No maids. I'm trying to do things on my own now that I'm out of Preston's mansion." Luke said. 

"Okay. But don't be complaining to me when we have four kids in the house, including a baby." 

Luke rolled his eyes, "I think we can handle it." 

Ashton froze in his spot. 

"I forgot to tell Cal and Mikey that we're having a boy." He told them everything and this was important to all of them. How could he forget? 

"You can tell them at school tomorrow, can't you?" 

"Yeah but they might be upset that I didn't tell them first. They've been really like jealous lately because of how much time I spend with you." 

Luke snuck up behind Ashton, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's waist and pressing kisses to his neck, "Well they need to realize I'm your boyfriend now." Ashton turned around and looked Luke in the eyes, "Boyfriend?" 

"You said it yourself at dinner." He answered, placing his hands on Ashton's hips.

"Yeah, but it was only easier to say that then, 'my baby daddy whom I live with and we kiss sometimes and flirt'." 

"It doesn't always have to be that way." 

"Are you-?"

"Asking you to be my boyfriend?" Luke interrupted and smirked, getting close to Ashton's ear, "Of course." He whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short updates from now on; only way I'm going to be able to update frequently. :/   
> hope if anyone is still reading this that you enjoyed it.


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